The backbone of democracy is a well-informed populace. Over the millennia, the philosophy of freedom of speech emerged as a way to combat an under-abundance of information. This is because for most of human history, censoring media could disperse entire schools of thought. In the 21st century, however, we have for the first time in human history an overabundance of information. This means we don’t have the wisdom of the past to guide us in our efforts to keep the population informed.

Given our technological progress in the past century, we are realizing that many of humanity’s oldest and most essential problems now lie in the realm of communication. Whether that be war, resources, or energy, all are shaped by the distribution and information sphere just as much as the physical realm. We cannot face these problems head-on; it’s just too much for one organization to handle, but we can do our part to make sure that we are fighting for the truth.

Everyone has their bias, so we don’t try to eliminate it. We focus our efforts on “teaching the man to fish” by speaking about research and misinformation as a process. As political issues are breaking down the current international order, it’s more important now we stay neutral and as a voice of clarity. We need this program now more than ever, before it is too late.