But these days we are awash in conspiracy theories: they give elegance to the unruly information overload we all face.

They aren't new to US politics – the internet has only supercharged them, globalised them. And they have a political dimension in and of themselves, because they can act as a tool to weaken an essential engine of democracy: an informed public.

Everything could be true, the thinking goes, and if everything could be true then nothing is to be trusted. As a result, productive politics suffer.

Getting people in democracy to disbelieve in the existence of facts would be a big win for the authoritarian, kleptocratic governments that want to limit the power of liberal democracies.

One of the tasks of democratic politics today, then, is to support and affirm the existence of verifiable facts, and to act on them. It's not going to be easy because conspiracy theory, not fact, increasingly fills our Twitter and Facebook feeds, it filters into headlines and consumes newsrooms and reporters with the task of debunking the falsehoods they contain.

Underneath all of this, nonetheless, facts exist. There are differences of opinion, of course, and there should be: democracy relies on vigorous debate. But facts exist. They matter and they will continue to drive our debates.

So here are a couple relevant facts you should know about: the economic outlook in the developed world has grown less certain, engendering a lot of fear, especially of newly-arrived immigrants. Technological changes are not just displacing workers but making violence and terror more vivid to the public. Technology is enabling new political outcomes, too. The same internet that allowed the first black president to sidestep the traditional gatekeepers of media to appeal directly to voters is now letting an unqualified reality TV star, backed by shadowy online forces, attempt a smash-and-grab on the White House.

This is happening amid another reality: the slow division of the world's powers into two categories: democracies and kleptocracies. Academics have described what they call a "democracy recession" or a retreat in democratic values worldwide.

First, democratic reforms were set back in developing countries. Now those countries are trying to set back political progress in democracies themselves. Raising the volume of fake information and conspiracy theories is one of the tools.

So those of us who live in a democracy should understand that our system is being corroded by false and misleading information online – some from home, some from abroad and some from home being encouraged from abroad.

It gums up sensible discussion. It diverts attention from real issues. It motivates voters to act on false fears. As we can see with the Trump candidacy, it represents a true threat to our way of life.

It's probably fair to say if you cherish your democracy you might want to stand up for it and for the power of facts like never before in Australia, in the US, everywhere. 

Because the takeaway of this year’s US election is that it's not just about the political spectacle. In 2016, the democracy you save could be your own.