I'd like to disclaim that I am a U.S. citizen who does not identify as either Republican or Democrat. I also do not get my news from any TV networks. If you believe Trump is an ethical and honest person, or if Fox News and Info Wars are your only source of "news," or if you are not prepared to recognize the fact that the majority of misinformation and fake news originates from international sources (mostly Russian) and domestic white nationalists, then you will not enjoy this documentary that addresses perpetrators on both sides of the political spectrum.
"After Truth" explores the origins, spread, and devastating consequences and human costs of fake news and misinformation via interviews with various journalists, political operatives, conspiracy theorists, and real-life victims. Topics include Jade Helm 15; Pizzagate; the murder of Seth Rich; the attempt to smear Robert Mueller; the Doug Jones/Roy Moore Alabama Senate race; Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook Senate hearings; and the fate of psychopathic hatemonger Alex Jones of Info Wars.
Filmmaker Andrew Rossi does a good job of providing just the facts and various people's perspectives who are both Republican and Democrat, without putting his own spin on the events or concepts. His message is one that rings the alarm to warn us of the nefarious and insidious psychological effects of fake news and urges people of all political persuasions to think critically when evaluating information and to fact check using reliable sources before adopting that information as truth and sharing it with others. It shows the devastating costs, the worst of which being the erosion of civil political discourse and human costs such as the pizza restaurant's employees and owner that still to this day receive death threats (and had an armed gunman drive from North Carolina to Washington who stormed the restaurant) all due to completely unsubstantiated and fabricated allegations that started on the internet and was fueled by fear, resentment, and animosity toward the Democratic Party.
Where the film falls a bit flat is proposing an effective solution to fight the circulation of fake news. "Stop using online social media and interact with people face-to-face" is one obvious but unrealistic and impractical proposed solution. "Ensure our populace is better educated and trained to think critically" is idealistic but unlikely to eradicate the problem. The inherent problem, as recognized by Rossi, is that one cannot stop a fake news article from being circulated without serious censorship and First Amendment considerations. The slippery slope argument applies here more than ever, as without free speech and freedom of the press, we cease being a democratic republic and descend into authoritarianism.
I recommend this quick 90-minute watch to those seeking to learn and understand the serious threat fake news poses to our political process, especially with the upcoming presidential election. In the end, it's up to each of us to do our due diligence to determine whether the information provided to us is real or fabricated. We should never blindly trust what we hear on TV, what we read on the internet, or the speech of public figures, especially politicians, and especially politicians who have been objectively proven to have no integrity and no interest in serving the needs of the American people, Democrat and Republican alike.
