'Post-truth' is the word of 2016 as Donald Trump and Brexit cause political earthquakes

The political shocks of Donald Trump's presidential victory and the UK's decision to split from the EU have helped "post-truth" be named the word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries. The publisher revealed the use of the adjective has surged by 2,000% compared to 2015.

The term, which describes emotions overriding facts, has also become associated with the phrase: "post-truth politics".

Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries, said the word has been finding its "linguistic footing" for some time.

"We first saw the frequency really spike this year in June with buzz over the Brexit vote and again in July when Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination," he said.

"Given that usage of the term hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, I wouldn't be surprised if post-truth becomes one of the defining words of our time."

Grathwohl also explained the earliest known usage of "post-truth" was in a 1992 essay in The Nation magazine by Serbian-American playwright Steve Tesich.

Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston notably used the phrase to attack the Vote Leave campaign as she switched to a pro-Remain position ahead of the EU referendum.

The Health Committee chair questioned the group's claim that the UK contributes £350m ($436m) a week to Brussels.

"I think right from the outset there are people within the Leave campaign who acknowledge in private that they know this is not true, but what they are trying to encourage is a discussion about the amount. Well, this is a kind of post-truth politics," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme