Wege aus dem Zeitalter der Lüge
ELISA HOVEN
Das Ende der Wahrheit? / The End of Truth? How Lies, Fake News and Media
Framing are a Threat to our Society – and What We Can Do About Them
Non-Fiction, 256 pages
Autumn 2025
This book analyses the threats posed by lies and fake news, and offers us a realistic route out
Elisa Hoven is a judge and professor of criminal law
“Brilliantly accessible. Reading this is far more useful than justgrumbling at home.”
Jörg Thadeusz, WDR 2, on ‘Strafsachen’
Ways Out of the Age of Lies
Who or what can we still trust? Digital innovations like bots and deepfakes, along with deception from media and politicians, are
increasingly shaking our faith in democratic institutions. Constitutional judge Elisa Hoven reveals the great dangers this new development poses, and explains what we can do to salvage a sense of social harmony. Using examples from the politics of migration, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change, she explains how false
information and one-sided reporting are destroying the foundations of our society’s decision-making processes. She calls for fundamental changes to prevent a complete loss of trust in politics and a triumph for radical forces. Among these are a comprehensive overhaul of criminal law, the creation of additional digital laws, a move away from
opinion journalism, and teaching media literacy in schools. There’s still time to save our peaceful, open society – but we have to act.
