Empty coffins
Polemics in fake news
Abstract
Abstract— This article investigates the phenomenon of fake news through the lens of Rhetoric, situating it within the framework of information disorder. The central objective is to analyze the rhetorical nature of false discourse, observing how it differs from the search for truth by operating as an antilogy contrary to the logos. The theoretical foundation articulates concepts from classical Aristotelian rhetoric — such as logical, ethical, and pathetic proofs — with Gorgias' sophistry and contemporary reflections on the algorithmic functioning of social networks. Through the case study of disinformation regarding "empty coffins" during the Covid-19 pandemic, the discussion addresses how technological personalization creates echo chambers that favor group identification and the spontaneous sharing of falsehoods. The work concludes that the effectiveness of fake news lies not in direct correspondence with facts, but in the exploitation of kairos and cognitive biases, generating truth effects that challenge consensus and reason in public debate.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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English:
Rhêtoriké- digital rhetoric journal is an Open Access journal.All its contents are available free of charge, at no cost to you or your institution.You can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without prior permission from the editor or the author.
Rhêtoriké- digital rhetoric journal, LabCom.IFP, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.By submitting your work to the journal, you confirm that you are the author and that you own the copyright, that the content is original and previously unpublished, and that you agree to the licensing terms.
