An Antidote to Misinformation
"If you’re in the information business, you’re in the misinformation business," say the writers at Long Dash, the communications firm founded by The Atlantic. False or misleading information is everywhere: on our TVs, in our newsfeeds and our daily conversations. One insidious aspect of misinformation is that it makes it harder for society to deal with already-tough problems.
An example of such a problem is energy. Consider the energy learning curve, a public opinion theory developed by Daniel Yankelovich, the public opinion pioneer and social scientist, about how people work through complex problems. He introduced the concept in 2009, and it is just as relevant today.
Complex problems require the public to make sacrifices and tradeoffs. If the solutions were easy, there wouldn't be a problem. In the case of energy, a person may want to live sustainably and support Ukraine's autonomy but not pay more at the gas pump. It's tough to reconcile these competing priorities.
Working through the issues is difficult, and doesn't always happen, but misinformation makes it even more challenging to do so. You can't reasonably weigh the pros and cons of different energy sources when you're being deliberately fed "facts" that aren't true, such as the ideas that wind turbines tend to explode or cause cancer.
There's no easy answer, but we believe the most promising efforts to break the misinformation cycle will take hold at the community level. This point is also a nod to Yankelovich, who argued for civic leadership as a force for restoring trust between communities and public institutions. Civic leadership comes from a diverse mix of people and organizations. Mayors, council members, business and nonprofit directors, college presidents, religious leaders and regular citizens – people whose are pragmatic, solution-oriented and focused on local matters. These are the voices likeliest to have the trust and credibility needed to overcome misinformation and help society address its pressing challenges.
