We’re living in a world of Prophetosis
- Michael
- Feb 15
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 16
Not a real word (yet), but it feels like the right one.
Prophetosis (n.): an online and/or social-media-amplified condition where everyone is incentivised to speak like an original source—certain, absolute, “in the know”—and where credibility is performed more than proven.
The algorithm doesn’t reward careful.
It rewards fast.
It rewards attention.
It rewards clicks.
This leads us into prophetosis where the spotlight becomes almost as Terrence McKenna defined it in the 80s and early 1990s to be 'hyper-novelty [a]'. But to apply this term in this particular context is to be determined on: the newest claim, the hottest take, the stylish persuasion, the sharpest certainty—whether it’s accurate or not.
Whole populations quietly shift from:
citizens → audiences;
From thinkers → followers.
Not because people are foolish, but because the environment they entered is designed to make certainty contagious.
The result looks like information disorder:
misinformation (wrong, but believed)
disinformation (wrong, and pushed deliberately)
malinformation (true, but weaponised)
And prophetosis is the symptom cluster:
Overconfidence dressed up as authority
Hot takes replacing evidence
Identity signalling replacing curiosity
“Trust me” replacing “Here’s how I know”
The scary part isn’t that prophets exist.
It’s that prophetosis trains the rest of us to stop noticing the difference between these three:
(a). confidence vs competence
(b). virality vs validity
(c). familiarity vs truth
So what’s the antidote?
How can I not get prophetosis?
Not more cynicism—more literacy:
Ask: What would change your mind? (and ask it of yourself too)
Look for the primary source
Follow the incentives behind the message
Notice emotional manipulation (especially outrage and certainty)
If prophetosis is the diagnosis, then critical thinking is the treatment plan.
And if we’re prescribing something practical...
Here is a 'medical' prescription for prophetosis:
Engaging fully and applying what you learn from one of the many short online courses from reputable sources such as:
The Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) programme course, The Key to Media Literacy: Creating safer and more democratic schools in the digital age.
and
In the morning, take a spoonful of...
The Key to Media Literacy from the Council of Europe Education Department
or
After lunch...
Accessing reputable information and understanding what your governing entities promote and provide to you when you don't even know it, like:
Freedom of Expression: Information Disorder, Council of Europe
and finally before bedtime...
Taking a dose of fun and games with this game about fake news:
Bad News - play the fake news game!
Signed,
Your Online Media Literacy Doctor, Dr CRe. (This too sounds like some minor symptoms)
PS: you get a free follow-up prescription any time you like.
Go learn something for your own mental health.
References
[a]. Hypernovelty refers to an extreme form of novelty characterized by rapid and unprecedented changes in complexity and interconnectedness within the universe. Terence McKenna proposed that hypernovelty represents a phase where the rate of novelty accelerates to a point of overwhelming transformation, leading to significant shifts in consciousness and reality.
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