Truth and Visual Discourse on Social Media ^†

Discussions on fake news, alternative facts and the post-factual age demonstrate that we still expect a certain concept of truth on Social Media. At the same time, it is highly questionable if digital sharing-platforms with user-created content are the right place to provide reliable information. Furthermore, we have to consider the impact of visual evidence on irrational discourse, as information technology is offering images in ever-increasing quality and visual issues. I will concentrate on the role of images in Social Media and open a historical perspective: Social Media create an artificial reality, and it is a commonplace that in artificial realities truth and fiction cannot be distinguished. Can an image of reality that obstructs reality transport truth? Or should Social Media rather be seen as poetry?