Task 3. Define truth

1. Define truth, give a reference (Harvard please)
2. Give an example of how digital media can compromise your definition

The Truth was defined by an online Oxford dictionary as being:

1. The quality or state of being true.
2. That which is true as opposed to false.
3. A fact of belief that is accepted as true.

However, as you can see, in all three definitions of the ‘truth’, it is no more than an extension of the word ‘true’.

Definition of ‘true’ also provided by an online Oxford dictionary:

1. In accordance with fact or reality.
2. Rightly or strictly so called; genuine: true love.
3. Real or actual.
4. Accurate and exact.
5. (of a note) exactly in tune.
6. Correctly positioned or aligned; upright or level.
7. Loyal or faithful.
8. (true to) accurately conforming to (a standard or expectation).

However, regardless of whatever definition we give to the word ‘truth’, the problem is that nowadays people can argue from their own perspective what the truth is. Digital media, in the form of the internet, has proved to be the leading platform for this ‘digital revolution’, where people have the freedom to publicize their opinions. The best example of this would be online encyclopedia giant, Wikipedia, which boasts a population of over 3 million articles at least in English making it even bigger than the Encyclopedia Britannica. Wikipedia entries can be authored and refined by anyone, and that is the key issue, because there is no standard in the quality of information input and there is no differentiation between expert and amateur. This conflicts with the first definition of the truth, ‘quality and state of being true’, and then there is the conflict with the definitions of ‘true’, because how do we know whether the information from the author is substantially factual and this questions the reliability of all information that is distributed in a similar manners.

Oxford Dictionaries. 2010. Passionate about language [Online] Available http://www.askoxford.com/ [Accessed 19 April 2010].