We know bad information ruins lives. From low levels of trust in politics, to dangerous health advice during the coronavirus pandemic, our work has never been more urgent.
In a new report funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we draw on our ten years of experience to set out why bad information starts, how it spreads and what we can do about it.
Today we’re calling on the government, political parties, journalists, think tanks, charities and internet companies to do more to fight bad information in the UK:
- We need a culture of transparency and accuracy in government: all major policy announcements should include the evidence to back them up, and politicians making claims in public should be ready to make the data they rely on public
- Political parties should be more transparent about whether, and how, they fact check announcements or speeches, including publishing reports and press releases for scrutiny
- Correcting false claims: in 2019, less than half of the papers and politicians we asked for a correction responded to us. This is not good enough.
- Press offices should encourage accurate coverage of their work, by including important caveats and sources in their releases.
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