Why We Need This!

How will Truth For Democracy Push for Truth?

Recently in America, our institutions have not been able to maintain and support honest political conversations. Our political parties have failed, our media and our journalists have failed, our government entities have failed, our families have failed, we have all failed. It’s time to stop doing what we’ve been doing and do something else. It’s all hands on deck! What’s needed now is at least one organization that focuses specifically and energetically on changing the culture of political dialogue.

When falsehoods crowd out truth, our democracy can’t work. It’s obvious! When citizens debate each other with misinformation, the conversation can’t help but spiral down into misinformed decision-making. With dishonest debate, we might as well vote randomly, rather than be manipulated in a debate of false ideas.

On the other hand, with honest debate, we will still disagree, but we get two advantages. First, because we’re dealing with evidence and truth, we can learn from each other. Second, we will come to an honest decision. The majority will win, and both winners and losers will know what was really at stake.

Currently, there is no organization that works to support and nurture truth in our public and political discourse. Truth for Democracy — which you can make possible with your donation — will fill this gap. Once funded and organized, Truth for Democracy will focus like a laser on bringing truth back into political and civic dialogue.

What will Truth For Democracy do? Everything in our power to make truth a virtue again. At this point in time, we are in brainstorming mode. Here are our initiating ideas:

  1. Give angel-like grant money to teams of Americans who propose products, practices, and or technological solutions to support truth-building.
  2. Sponsor innovative research to determine best practices in disseminating truth and weakening the potency of falsehoods.
  3. Bring researchers and truth-building teams together to accelerate success in developing innovative solutions.
  4. Test and research full-year persuasive messaging/advertising to convey truth and instill the virtue of truth-seeking and truth-telling.
  5. Develop a system of metrics to give news outlets, social media companies, politicians, and others feedback on their truth-telling success.
  6. Develop a sophisticated social-media structure to engage Americans in discussions, reflection, and inspiration.

If we are successful in raising sufficient funds to get started, we will prioritize these goals and consider other opportunities as well.