2016 marked the birth of the post-truth era. Sophistry and spin have coloured politics since the dawn of time, but two shock events - the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's elevation to US President - heralded a departure into murkier territory.
From Trump denying video evidence of his own words, to the infamous Leave claims of £350 million for the NHS, politics has rarely seen so many stretching the truth with such impunity.
B******t gets you noticed. B******t makes you rich. B******t can even pave your way to the Oval Office.
This is bigger than fake news and bigger than social media. It's about the slow rise of a political, media and online infrastructure that has devalued truth.
This is the story of b******t: what's being spread, who's spreading it, why it works - and what we can do to tackle it.
