The Bell Curve of Truth
Standards of Truth in Media Are a Requirement for Democracy and Commerce
Standards of Truth in Media are a Requirement for Democracy and Commerce to function efficiently or even at all, as well as for the Sustainability of Civilization and Mother Earth. To establish a 'post-truth era' or to succumb to arguments for the relativity of truth for our media will undermine much that humanity over centuries has accomplished.
Civilization seems to be flailing. A very simple tweak to our social contract will right the ship. Under our current system, it is inevitable that the significant negative externalities of organizations scaling globally will also scale globally. So, we find climate change, disinformation, autocracy, inequality, and the misuse of AI scaling faster than humans' ability to respond, each threatening in their own way to undermine humanity.
The FIAT Proposal
The solution is to require institutions to be trustworthy and humane in all they do — to be Fiduciary In All Things (FIAT). George frames it as a single-sentence "legislative proposal":
"A Fiduciary standard of obligation is required for all institutions (corporate, non-profit and governmental) to place the interests of all stakeholders, of truth, of humanity, democracy and the living planet that sustains us, first above their own self-interest."
As humanity comes together globally for the first time in its history, a simple reset to the fiduciary responsibilities of organizations will end dystopia and support humanity for countless generations to come. A trustworthy world, sustainable, more organic than regulatory, and flourishing with freedom is the vision of FIAT. It is as well the yearning of humanity. It is what we were born for. If we are to survive, it is our destiny. It is what we have strived for for millennia, and now as humanity goes global, it is within our grasp.
B Corporations have done much to begin this movement by placing people and planet equal to profit in their fiduciary requirements. FIAT goes further by adding truth and democracy and by insisting that putting humanity first not be merely voluntary but become law.
Why Truth Comes First
Truth is first among these principles, because without an institutional dedication to truth, both democracy and commerce are at risk. Similarly, without standards for truth in media, the ecosystems of Earth, and the sustainability of our whole social enterprise — even humanity itself — are jeopardized.
The truth as expressed in FIAT is something we hardly believe we can have or accomplish, and the proper response to this is, "We deserve this." "We were born for this." This is who we are. To accomplish trustworthy institutions, media's role could not be more critical.
Over time, and greatly to our credit, the human species has wrestled with this question of truth, delivering much value to us as a civilization. We have established many kinds and standards of measurement, and much of civilization is built upon the practicality of those truths. We have established an enormous body of proven science. We have established standards of investigative journalism to protect humanity from rumor, gossip, and unverifiable conspiracy theories. In courts of law, we have standards of evidence, and we require the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to be spoken or significant penalties of perjury will be imposed. We have documents and images that have been passed on to us over many centuries. For years after World War II, America followed a 'fairness doctrine' in media to facilitate contrasting views and to ensure media acted in the best interests of humanity. As we emerge from our current season of mistruth, George believes we are destined, with FIAT, to take this endeavor to establish a civilization based on truth one large step further.
It's of great value for humans to know that the institutions they work for, that they interact with, that reside in their communities, stand for truthful communication in everything they do. Establishing truth across society provides the great comfort of trust and trustworthiness, as well as the energy that comes from great pride in humanity and civilization. Truth forms a foundation for the most sustainable innovations, for entrepreneurial endeavor as well as for the safety necessary to raise our children. Truth is necessary for democracy to work. It is clear in the turmoil of our century that standards of truth can no longer be trusted to a news media owned by a few powerful self-interested billionaires, trumpeting their own personal 'freedom of speech.' Proper standards of truth are something humanity can figure out. It's time we did so.
There's a Bell Curve to the Relativity of Truth
If the proper function of mass media is to facilitate and even model a great civilization, a great humanity, then we might use what we have learned of bell curves to make sure that all mass media primarily delivers to us not mistruths but truth that will be helpful to humanity, to our commerce with each other, to Mother Earth and to democracy. Most of what would be reported in media would lie in the mid portion of a bell curve of truthfulness. And media sources would view their role as attempting to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth with its help.
If we were to list what we might think of as truths in order of their reliability in this regard, they might look something like the list below. The center of the bell curve would include the long-established standards of truth already identified. Poetic truths, spiritual truths, and theories would occupy the outer edges of the center of the bell curve. While still being reported and frequently useful to us, they wouldn't be proclaimed as truths of the same degree or kind as the standards closer to the center. Of course, the placement of these could well shift over time as our understanding grows — Galileo, for example, occupied the realm of theory at first, until his theories were acknowledged and established as scientific truths.
As we go further along the bell curve toward out-and-out lies, the list becomes decreasingly useful to humanity and thus would be less reported. Artificial intelligence could be hugely helpful in this refinement of what would be most useful and truthful to humanity and civilization, identifying where on a bell curve of truth a particular statement, idea, or belief resides.
George is optimistic that humans can relatively easily get to a standard of truth that will be sustainable for democracy and our other great human values — because our ancestors have taken on this challenge repeatedly throughout history and succeeded.
Questions This Essay Hopes to Open Up
George hopes The Bell Curve of Truth will begin a discussion. Many questions remain, among them: is this the best approach? What percentages make the most sense? How could we ensure and enforce standards of truth that might be sustainable for generations? It is time to end dystopia and the spread of false news in our media. He hopes that schools of journalism and democracy might have some of the answers to these questions, and offers further questions to keep pondering:
What would an ideal "Bell Curve of Truth" look like?
One that would best foster democracy.
One that would facilitate market efficiency.
One that would foster sustainability for our planet and our species.
One that would foster humanity's wide range of poetic and spiritual truths.
One that would facilitate the emergence of new ideas and theories in science and society without undermining our values of truth, democracy, humanity, and Mother Earth.
What other elements belong on the Bell Curve of Truth, and where?
How can we arrive at the right percentages to foster the sustainability of the best of humanity on The Bell Curve of Truth?
If there was truth in media, what would it look like?
What would media report if it aspired to "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"?
What would shift if we understood the purpose of media to foster democracy and its freedoms?
The Bell Curve of Truth — Full Ranked List
Here are the items on The Bell Curve of Truth, ranged from truths to lies. George notes that others might include additional items, question the ones listed, or change the order or rank — the point is to start a discussion that leads to action, so that from this moment forth we can trust our media to tell the truth.
Facts
Scientific Truth: Based on empirical evidence and the scientific method.
Direct and verifiable quotes
Investigative Journalism: Rooted in verified sources, requiring at least two independent confirmations before something is published.
Legal Truth: Established through sworn testimony in a court of law to "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," with severe consequences for perjury.
Objective Measurement: Standards such as the definition of an inch or the measurement of time.
Verifiably photographic or other forms of evidence
The fairness doctrine: Used for much of the 20th century after World War II in America to keep the news largely in that middle section of the bell curve, preventing the huge misinformation of conspiracy theories that we have let loose in social media and now find ourselves and our democracy subject to.
Statements by organizations that are fully transparent and accountable
Historical Truth: Recorded facts that have been cross-verified through reliable documentation.
Poetic Truth: Conveyed through the emotional depth of poetry and the arts, revealing universal human experiences.
Spiritual Truth: Experienced individually, insights and understandings related to the most profound levels of meaning, often referencing wisdom, consciousness, the soul, spirit, or a higher power, and explored through faith, intuition, or meditative experience.
Theories: Along with poetic and spiritual truths, can be very useful or addictively dangerous — are they helpful, are they useful, are they included as part of a whole set, or is there even the remotest implication that they are the truth when other theories are quite plausible?
Statements, even truths, that are out of context and thus potentially misleading.
Statements, even truths, that lack the full context or the full gestalt of the situation and thus completely fail the test of "attempt to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
Hearsay or gossip.
Statements by organizations that are neither transparent nor accountable.
Half truths and excuses.
Misdirections.
Self-serving comments (distinguishing, among these comments, those from people with nothing to lose and everything to gain — very low on the bell curve — from those from people who have much to lose or who have been violated or profoundly injured, much more toward the middle of the bell curve).
Misquoting someone.
Belief systems imposed on others as "Truth."
A statement by someone who lies constantly, predictably, or consistently, particularly in self-serving ways.
Lies and falsehoods.
Gaslighting, which through psychological manipulation establishes an environment in which lies become assumed to be truths.
A demagogue's (or bully's) "Truth", which like gaslighting establishes an environment in which lies become assumed to be truths across a broad portion of society.
The Bell Curve of Truth — Proposed Percentages
80%
Facts
Scientific Truth
Direct and verifiable quotes
Investigative Journalism
Legal Truth
Objective Measurement
Verifiably photographic or other form of evidence
The fairness doctrine
Statements by organizations that are fully transparent and accountable
Historical Truth
15% (7.5% x 2)
Poetic Truth
Spiritual Truth
Theories
2.9% (1.45% x 2)
Statements, even truths, that are out of context
Statements, even truths, that lack full context
Hearsay or gossip
Statements by organizations that are neither transparent nor accountable
2% (1% x 2)
Half truths and excuses
Misdirections
Self-serving comments
Misquoting someone
Belief systems imposed on others as "Truth"
0.1% (0.05% x 2)
A statement by someone who lies constantly, predictably, or consistently
Lies and falsehoods
Gaslighting
A demagogue's (or bully's) "Truth"
About George Kinder
George D. Kinder is the founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning and the originator of the Fiduciary In All Things (FIAT) movement, which calls for every institution — corporate, non-profit, and governmental — to be held to a fiduciary standard that places truth, humanity, democracy, and the living planet ahead of self-interest.