The kind of post-truth arguments used by Maddow and Carlson didn't originate with their lawyers.
The earliest case I know of was the false advertising lawsuit made by the Center for Science in the Public Interest against the Coca Cola company.
Coca Cola was marketing a drink called "Vitamin Water," with endorsements from athletes, which strongly implied that the drink was healthy. In fact it was mostly sugar water.
Coca Cola's lawyers argued that "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.” Because nobody should believe what ads say. In that case the judge wasn't satisfied with the argument, but standards appear to have slipped since then.
So Trump is a liar, Biden is a liar, Maddow is a liar, Carlson is a liar, Coca Cola is a liar. But the post-truth society didn't begin with Trump.
The earliest case I know of was the false advertising lawsuit made by the Center for Science in the Public Interest against the Coca Cola company.
Coca Cola was marketing a drink called "Vitamin Water," with endorsements from athletes, which strongly implied that the drink was healthy. In fact it was mostly sugar water.
Coca Cola's lawyers argued that "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.” Because nobody should believe what ads say. In that case the judge wasn't satisfied with the argument, but standards appear to have slipped since then.
So Trump is a liar, Biden is a liar, Maddow is a liar, Carlson is a liar, Coca Cola is a liar. But the post-truth society didn't begin with Trump.
