Combating Disinformation

Disinformation undermines people’s trust in democracy and its institutions. The rise of disinformation campaigns and the decline in local journalism in the United States have emerged as obstacles to the reliable flow of information.

Citizens often lack access to the facts they need to make informed decisions. At the same time, they don’t have the knowledge required to hold their leaders and governments accountable. Even worse, a lack of reliable information undermines the trust that a democracy depends upon for its stability.

The Bush Institute advocates for a range of methods to strengthen our democracy:

• Federal and state officials, along with the private sector, must play a pivotal role in combating disinformation.
• The public, along with the executive and legislative branches, should take the lead in defending and promoting freedom of the press and the role of journalism.
• The private sector, Congress, philanthropy, and news readers/viewers should support local journalism.