Pro-Truth Pledge
The Pro-Truth Pledge is an initiative promoting truth seeking and rational thinking, particularly in politics.[1][2][3]
History
[edit]I pledge My Earnest Efforts To:
Share truth
- Verify: fact-check information to confirm it is true before accepting and sharing it
- Balance: share the whole truth, even if some aspects do not support my opinion
- Cite: share my sources so that others can verify my information
- Clarify: distinguish between my opinion and the facts
Honor truth
- Acknowledge: acknowledge when others share true information, even when we disagree otherwise
- Reevaluate: reevaluate if my information is challenged, retract it if I cannot verify it
- Defend: defend others when they come under attack for sharing true information, even when we disagree otherwise
- Align: align my opinions and my actions with true information
Encourage truth
- Fix: ask people to retract information that reliable sources have disproved even if they are my allies
- Educate: compassionately inform those around me to stop using unreliable sources even if these sources support my opinion
- Defer: recognize the opinions of experts as more likely to be accurate when the facts are disputed
- Celebrate: celebrate those who retract incorrect statements and update their beliefs toward the truth
First published in December 2016, the pledge is a movement and initiative of the Rational Politics project of Intentional Insights, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting rational thinking and good decision making in various areas of life.[4] The Pro-Truth Pledge is partially a reaction (and a would-be answer) to recent political trends in the US and UK, for example to alternative facts, growth of fake news and post-truth politics; all of which are seen as acute problems.[5][6][by whom?]
Founders
[edit]The founders of Pro-Truth Pledge come from its mother organization, Intentional Insights. The behavior and social science methodologies behind the Pro-Truth Pledge were applied to the topic by Gleb Tsipursky, one of the founders of Intentional Insights.[7][8]
Supporters and impact
[edit]According to the project's home page, as of August 26, 2018, there are 8,374 signatories to the pledge, including 85 organizations, 625 government officials, and 850 public figures[9] (including Jonathan Haidt, Michael Shermer, Steven Pinker and Pierre Whalon).[10][11] The Pro-Truth Pledge has received media coverage.[12]
Effectiveness
[edit]At least two peer-reviewed studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of taking the Pro-Truth Pledge.
A study published in the journal Behavior and Social Issues examined the sharing of news-related content on Facebook before and after taking the pledge. The findings "suggest that taking the PTP had a statistically significant effect on behavior change in favor of more truthful sharing on Facebook."[13]
Another study, published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology, used a different methodology and reached a similar conclusion: "taking the pledge results in a statistically significant increase in alignment with the behaviors of the pledge."[14]
Translations and pledge-takers by geography
[edit]The pledge has been translated into Spanish, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Portuguese and German, but the map of the pledge takers shows that most (above 90%) of the pledge takers live in North America, mainly in the US.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Week in Fact-Checking: New research on brains, fakery and truth". American Press Institute. October 27, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Pro-Truth Pledge Urges Fact-Checking To Check Politicians' Lies". Columbus, OH Patch. January 9, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Take the Pro-Truth Pledge!". Truth Pledge. August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
- ^ Smola, Jennifer. "Ohio State professor's 'Pro-Truth Pledge' encourages fact-checking before sharing information". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Enfield, Nick (November 16, 2017). "We're in a post-truth world with eroding trust and accountability. It can't end well". The Guardian. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Fox News is most trusted news source in Trump's America". Newsweek. January 16, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Gleb Tsipursky Ph.D." Psychology Today. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Tsipursky, Gleb (October 23, 2017). "Which Politicians Should We Trust in the November 7 Election?". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Take the Pro-Truth Pledge". Pro-Truth Pledge. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ "Fugitive Watch Takes The Pro-Truth Pledge". Fugitive Watch. January 11, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Tell Students About the Pro Truth Pledge". July 26, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Birds of the same feather: The unmissable link between ad fraud and fake news". The Drum. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Fighting Fake News and Post-Truth Politics With Behavioral Science: The Pro-Truth Pledge". Retrieved July 28, 2018.
- ^ "A Psychological Approach to Promoting Truth in Politics: The Pro-Truth Pledge". Retrieved July 28, 2018.
- ^ "Taking the Pro-Truth Pledge". Dispatches From the Culture Wars. July 11, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
