Private citizens who signed the pledge evaluate the statements of public figures who signed the pledge, holding the latter accountable for any misinformation. Pledge-takers include private citizens who want to promote truthfulness in our society, and public figures who want to do the same and also commit themselves to being held accountable for truthful behavior. This includes fact-checking before sharing information, citing one’s sources, and retracting incorrect statements. The pledge asks signers to commit to 12 behaviors that research shows correlate with truthfulness. To address this problem, a group of scientists and concerned citizens came up with a way to get politicians to commit to the truth: the Pro-Truth Pledge at.
As a result, mainstream media are not in a good position to separate the liars from the truth-tellers. Thus, politicians who want to cover up their corrupt and unethical activities are now using the label of “fake news” to attack reporters trying to uncover their misdoings. However, trust in the mainstream media is at an all-time low, with a majority of citizens across the political spectrum believing it publishes a lot of fake news. Traditionally, mainstream media had the role of separating the wheat of truth from the chaff of deception.
No wonder that a study showed that most Americans who see fake news believe it.
Extensive research in psychology shows that our minds tend to search for and interpret information in ways that align with our previous beliefs, a phenomenon known as “confirmation bias.” In other words, we’ll tend to believe whoever tells us what we want to hear, whether or not what they’re saying is true. Let’s get the myths out of the way: we can’t trust our gut on who is telling the truth. How can we tell apart the ones who spout bald-faced lies from those who actually tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Fortunately, we now have a science-based tool for telling which politicians are comfortable committing to the truth, and which are not. In these dark days of “fake news” and “alternative facts,” it’s hard to trust any politicians. Caption: Image of US flag with “Vote” written on it ( ZIPNON/Pixabay)
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