Josie Mély is the translator of Werner Herzog's work from German into French. Her latest work deals with truth and lies, from Antiquity to the present day. Interview and reading.
The future of truth, Werner Herzog
Séguier, February 2026
What remains of truth in an age of fake news, artificial intelligence and rising populism? Werner Herzog returns with a hard-hitting essay on the big questions that are tearing our present apart.
"The quest for truth is the journey into the unknown that distinguishes us from the cows on the prairie", says Werner Herzog. The fact is, this "quest" has always animated human societies, like a drive towards the ideal. But in the face of mass manipulation enabled by digital technologies, the spectre of widespread disinformation and the rise of populism, is this era coming to an end?
From the fake news of antiquity to the current challenges of artificial intelligence, from the conquest of Mars to tales of alien abduction, from the ecstasy of medieval mystics to the powerful emotion we can feel in front of a work of art, the director of Fitzcarraldo probes, ponders and questions. The result is a humorous and lucid reflection, a virtuoso blend of anecdotes, film memories and erudition. It's an incandescent book that gives pride of place to the powers of poetry and fiction, reminding us that truth is not just a matter of facts, but also of sensitivity and wonder.
Séguier, February 2026
What remains of truth in an age of fake news, artificial intelligence and rising populism? Werner Herzog returns with a hard-hitting essay on the big questions that are tearing our present apart.
"The quest for truth is the journey into the unknown that distinguishes us from the cows on the prairie", says Werner Herzog. The fact is, this "quest" has always animated human societies, like a drive towards the ideal. But in the face of mass manipulation enabled by digital technologies, the spectre of widespread disinformation and the rise of populism, is this era coming to an end?
From the fake news of antiquity to the current challenges of artificial intelligence, from the conquest of Mars to tales of alien abduction, from the ecstasy of medieval mystics to the powerful emotion we can feel in front of a work of art, the director of Fitzcarraldo probes, ponders and questions. The result is a humorous and lucid reflection, a virtuoso blend of anecdotes, film memories and erudition. It's an incandescent book that gives pride of place to the powers of poetry and fiction, reminding us that truth is not just a matter of facts, but also of sensitivity and wonder.
