The Implications of Epistemic Polarization and Factual Relativism for Misinformation Research and Democracy

In contemporary digital societies, the status of epistemic authorities and democratic institutions is under severe strain by misinformation as well as delegitimizing accusations targeting legacy media, science, and legal institutions. Truth claims are increasingly subjected to ideological and partisan biases, which may result in the reinforcement of oppositions between camps that see the world from diametrically opposed factual beliefs. As a longer-term consequence, delegitimizing communication and attacks on epistemic and democratic institutions can even be associated with democratic backsliding. This wider context of an epistemic crisis has crucial implications for misinformation research and policy, emphasizing the need to view epistemic disorders from a more holistic and context-bound perspective.