How Americans can learn to find truth in the age of misinformation
We're starting with a column about an problem that just keeps increasing: misinformation. It seems like it's everywhere, but we have some advice on how to find truth. Happy reading.
How Americans can learn to find truth in the age of misinformation
By Margaret Spellings and John Bridgeland
The past several years have seen a massive, sometimes malicious, assault on our sense of shared reality. The combination of social media and conspiracy theories has increased the reach and velocity of destructive lies. As a result, both the physical and political health of our country have been placed at risk.
On public health, the dissemination of misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines has been responsible for thousands of avoidable deaths. Public benefit from the miraculous development of vaccines was partially squandered. Some politicians even echoed fraudulent information for political benefit – riding a wave of falsehoods with casualties when it crashes to the shore.
On America’s civic health, the tribalization of information is a serious threat to democracy. Many Americans live in ideological bubbles where their main sources of information gain profit by feeding fear and anger. In some cases, it has encouraged the self-radicalization that led to the Jan. 6 insurrection and other violence.
Today's Editorial Cartoon
Teacher shortage: Why America's educators are fleeing the classroom
By Nicola Soares
America is in crisis this holiday season. Why? Because we may not have enough truckers to deliver our gifts in time. To calm a stressed-out nation, President Joe Biden said this fall he might call up the National Guard (the White House quickly backed off from that idea).
Wouldn’t it be great if the federal government could help fix the supply-chain problem in our schools, too?
Yes, what the world needs now is more teachers and truckers. But while our students will likely recover just fine if all their gifts don’t make it in time for the holidays, they – and the communities they call home – will be hurt for the long term if we don’t find new ways to recruit and retain more educators.
Having COVID isn't a badge of shame. Why do we keep acting like it is?
By Greta Van Susteren
Getting COVID-19 is not cheating on a spouse; it is not stealing from an employer. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is simply being exposed to an omnipresent, highly contagious virus and becoming infected by it. If you interview a lot of medical experts, as I do, the general expectation is that most of us will eventually contract COVID-19.
Yes, it happens more frequently to the unvaccinated – and they remain the most likely to become seriously ill, be hospitalized and even die – but as we can see from the data in highly vaccinated states like Vermont, the vaccinated can still get sick.
Yet when notices are sent out, with multiple identifying details, all except the person’s name, the implicit message is one of secrecy and shame. Revealing a positive COVID-19 test sounds very much like confessing to having contracted a sexually transmitted disease. And by doing this, we make people more reluctant to both be tested and come forward. Moreover, there are consequences for our COVID-half-reveal protocols: They aren’t helping us to contain the virus.
More columns to read today
- Afghan refugees need help. Here's how business leaders can step up.
- Focus COVID vaccinations on high-risk populations to stop pandemic
- Abortion laws: Viability standard sounds good but is arbitrary
- Supreme Court must take immunity away from untrustworthy cops
Columns on qualified immunity
We are doing a series examining the issue of qualified immunity. For more on the series read here.
- Police case gave Supreme Court a chance to protect your rights to record cops. It whiffed.
- He was asleep in his car. Police woke him up and created a reason to kill him.
- University officials flagrantly violate student speech rights. Courts let them off the hook.
- Hold rogue police accountable: Supreme Court needs to be clear about qualified immunity
This newsletter was compiled by Jaden Amos.