Truth Under Siege: The Influence of Politically Engineered Fake News on Public Consciousness in Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the influence of politically engineered fake news on public consciousness in Pakistan. It explores how disinformation shapes political reality, changes people's opinions, and undermines their trust in institutions. The study is guided by Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony, Berger and Luckman's theory of the social construction of reality, and Foucault's framework of power and knowledge, which explain the social and discursive mechanisms underlying fake news.

A qualitative research design was employed, using in-depth interviews with key informants and focus group discussions with politically aware citizens and social media users. Thematic analysis revealed twelve major themes, including the construction of political reality, hegemonic narrative domination, emotional engineering and affective politics, social validation, discursive production of enemies and heroes, the fragmentation of shared understanding, the decline of institutional trust, normalization of political falsehood, silencing, intimidation, and self-censorship, identity-based filtering, moralization of political narratives, and the everyday reproduction of fake news.

The findings indicate that fake news actively shapes perceptions, increases societal polarization, and erodes trust in democratic institutions. The study recommends enhancing media literacy, increasing transparency, promoting responsible social media engagement, facilitating dialogue, and establishing fact-checking mechanisms to mitigate its influence.