Introduction: Cultures of authenticity

Authenticity seems everywhere and nowhere at once. It is a widely used term in academia, popular culture and in everyday conversation. You might find it difficult to walk through a supermarket or department store without encountering products proudly claiming their authenticity. Turning on a television, flipping through a magazine or scrolling social media invariably turns up textual and visual content intentionally designed to convince you that a particular person, place or experience is authentic, and therefore worthy of your respect, your trust, your money or your vote. Authenticity is debated in relation to media production, to online communication, to artistic production and experiences, sought after in consumption culture and consequently in branding and marketing (BanetWeiser, 2012). In a world defined by the consumption of mass-produced goods and increasingly digitally mediated communication, the notion of authenticity clearly resonates with the aspirations and anxieties of many individuals.