Current Crisis of Truth and Trust
Exploring the historical roots and recent sources of the crisis of truth and trust, touching upon the democratic model, challenges in defining truth, technological impacts, and deep sources of the crisis.
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Presentation Transcript
1a. Key points: The crisis of truth needs to be approached historically. Knowledge or what individuals believe to be true changes over time in response to many factors. The full history of the relationship between truth and democracy goes back to the Enlightenment and Age of Revolutions in 18th-century Europe.
2a. Key points, in theory, about truth in democracies since their foundation: Democracies purport to prize the values of transparency, proof, and sincerity. However, truth has no one source and remains permanently open- ended. Experts and ordinary people play complementary roles in its determination. The pursuit of truth is aided by three principles: a) plain speech, b) freedom of speech, and c) trust.
2b. Key points, in practice, about truth in democracies since their foundation: Struggles over who gets to define truth, and how, are a constant feature. One permanent threat is an expert monopoly on truth. Another permanent threat is a popular monopoly on truth.
3. Recent Sources of the Current Crisis an explosion of data (types and sources) new technological capacities for sharing information widely in the absence of gatekeeping a regulatory and financial arena that promotes the circulation of false information political polarization linked to information bubbles that, paradoxically, result from this superabundant datasphere growing economic dislocation and inequality
4. Deep Sources of the Current Crisis of Truth and Trust: Part I, The Story of (Statistical) Expertise
5. Deep Sources of the Current Crisis of Truth and Trust: Part II, The Story of Popular Pushback and Populism
6. What Can We Do? Micro solutions include a) fostering the production of quality data, b) fact checking and issuing corrections of faulty information, c) encouraging new information consumption habits, and d) producing public service campaigns to explain important official statistical data in jargon-free and relevant ways. Macro solutions include e) attacking growing economic and educational inequality and f) reshaping the regulatory environment, especially for new media companies. Medium-range solutions include g) strengthening democratic institutions that are concerned with the production or diffusion of truth and involving people from many walks of life in the process.
