Fake as a virus: towards a semiotic epidemiology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1980-4016.esse.2022.198586Keywords:
Fake, Semiotics, Virus, Epidemiology of cultureAbstract
The “fake” is a central element in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. It is also fundamental in society, in the economy, in politics, and in law. Ultimately, it is the main force behind the creativity and fantasy of artists. Many studies and investigations have been devoted to the fake. However, new digital communication technologies are drastically changing the landscape. Some of the most disturbing phenomena of modern societies, from ‘post-truth’ to fake news, from conspiracy theories to ‘deep fake’, originate at the crossroads between traditional inventions and new simulacrums. Conventional approaches to truth and falsehood, authenticity and simulation, fact and fiction are increasingly insufficient to deal with the new hybrids of digital communication. An unprecedented synergy between the natural and social sciences, academics and social stakeholders, researchers and artists is necessary to assess the changing role of counterfeiting in contemporary societies. The article proposes a new framework of semiotic epidemiology of culture for the study of false in contemporary digital societies, considering the false as a sort of “epidemiological virus”.
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