Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life

Political and civil discourse in the United States is characterized by “Truth Decay,” defined as increasing disagreement about facts, a blurring of the line between opinion and fact, an increase in the relative volume of opinion compared with fact, and lowered trust in formerly respected sources of factual information. This report explores the causes and wide-ranging consequences of Truth Decay and proposes strategies for further action.

(The authors) suggest the public's mental bandwidth is being stressed by today's torrent of information from the internet, social media, cable television and talk radio, all of which might — partly because the media's audience has difficulty sorting fact from opinions — be subtracting from the public's stock of truth and trust. Their suggestions range from the anodyne (schools that teach critical reasoning; imagine that) to the appalling (“public money to support long-form and investigative journalism”). But their main purpose is, appropriately, to suggest research projects that will yield facts about the consequences of the new media and intellectual landscape. (George F. Will, The Washington Post)

A look at how a selective sorting of facts and evidence isn't just dishonest, but self-defeating to a society that has always worked best when reasoned debate and practical problem-solving thrive.

(Barack Obama, on what he’s been reading recently, June 2016)

The report defines “truth decay” as a set of four related trends (of which fake news is only a little part) and offers lots of ideas for future research. It’s focused on the United States, though “there is evidence that this phenomenon is also occurring elsewhere, especially in Western Europe. One of the ways in which I find the RAND report most useful is that it highlights throughout where research is still needed — what the big questions still are. The authors reviewed more than 250 articles and books that fit into the Truth Decay framework; you’ll find all the buzziest studies and academics mentioned here. But, they say, there’s still so much more we don’t know. If you’re looking for something to study, you’ll find so many ideas here.

(Laura Owen, Nieman Journalism Lab)