Democracy, disinformation and trust
Self-government works only with a robust shared body of facts and with people willing to take on local office. Both are under pressure.
What it is
Manipulation has become cheap; clarification has not.
Why now
Synthetic images and voices cut the cost of forgery, while local newsrooms are disappearing.
Levers
Platform transparency and data access for research, media literacy from primary school onwards, protection for office holders, reliable election administration, support for local reporting.