The War on Truth: The Players and the Risks
In the War on Truth, there are many casualties. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, and the health and the lives of many are under threat from misinformation. But there are other dangers from fake news - for social cohesion, for the West and democratic values, and even for the health of the planet. Why is there so much "Fake News"? Tactics to spread pseudoscientific misinformation were piloted by the tobacco industry to preserve their profits at the expense of human lives. The same tactics were then employed (and in many cases the same people were involved) in climate denial . Wealthy right-wing mega-donors continue to promote media that supports their vested interests, and have no qualms around generating misinformation. Less prevalent but more disturbing are those on the extreme right aiming for a collapse of society . Bizarrely, their aims are the same as the Communist states they despise. There is credible evidence Russia has been involved in a major cyber