False prophets are peddling conspiracy theories about Ireland’s history. Here’s the truth | Emma Dabiri

From Russell Brand to Steve Bannon, pundits are distorting our past oppression - when it should be a source of solidarity with refugees

Western liberal democracies are apparently inhabited by vast and increasing numbers of disaffected, dissatisfied citizens who could conceivably put populists in power on both sides of the Atlantic over the coming year. Donald Trump's White House comeback bid should be the stuff of dystopian fantasy, not a news story. But as Naomi Klein describes brilliantly in her new book, Doppelganger, our collective trajectory away from reality seems to be in freefall.

Why are populist narratives gaining so much traction even in mainstream political discourse? Perhaps the truth is too boring or complex for our shortened attention spans: after all, who has the time to make sense of reality when we can entertain ourselves with fantasy? Vanishingly few politicians keep their promises, which fuels a sense that we may as well just listen to the best storyteller, or the best shit-poster, whoever gets us riled up most effectively.

Emma Dabiri is an Irish academic and broadcaster, and the author of Don't Touch My Hair and Disobedient Bodies. She is a Guardian Europe columnist

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