Thought #5. Appearances can be deceptive.

The way something looks can sometimes mislead the viewer, making him get the wrong end of the stick. Appearances can be deceptive and often they are. 

Politicians have always lied, that’s a fact, a thing we can't deny. Maybe that’s the reason why post-truth has recently become the Oxford Word Of The Year 2016 with Mr Trump and Brexit being the leading exponent of the collocation “post-truth politics”. 

We could define post-truth in layman's terms as 'the art of the lie' although the politeness of the renowned dictionary has defined it as 'relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief'.

The problem arises when such a term is the mainstay of political commentary. It seems like the concern about fake news has diminished among the public opinion. It’s a perilous time for journalism, at least for the kind of journalism that does not aim to hit the headlines at any cost. 

In my opinion, freedom of speech and thought must prevail over the blatant lies that Mr Trump has spread countless times. Let me take Global Warming as an example to illustrate his behaviour. 

These are some random Trumps' notorious tweets: 

• 6 November 2012: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”. 
• 5 February 2014: “When will our country stop wasting money on global warming and so many other truly “STUPID" things and begin to focus on lower taxes?"
• 17 November 2014: "The entire country is  FREEZING - we desperately need a heavy dose of global warming, and fast! Ice caps size reaches all time high.”
• 18 February 2015: "Among the lowest temperatures EVER in much of the United States. Ice caps at record size. Changed name from GLOBAL WARMING to CLIMATE CHANGE”

Trump may come up trumps winning the presidential election but he who laughs last, laughs longest. Fortunately, facts and figures overcome Trump’s campaign against Climate Change (or Global Warming) treats. Taking a look at NASA’s “Global Climate Change” website would keep more than one mouth shut.

Appearances can be deceptive. It might be bitterly cold in the USA but it doesn’t mean that devastating weather events are happening in every corner of the globe. Please, don’t let those post-truth statements undermine your trust.