February 21, 2017 | Read Time: 6 minutes
The post-fact world in which we find ourselves presents a new challenge for foundations and other nonprofits, which depend on accurate information and effective communication to improve — and sometimes save — people’s lives.
If people question the existence of problems at the heart of many organizations’ missions — racism and climate change, for instance — how can we collaborate to solve those problems? If there is growing lack of trust in government, media, education, health-care, and scientific institutions, how can we convince people that those institutions are worth supporting?
The term “alternative facts” may be new, but the dilemma it reflects has long been foreseen.
In 2011, the online organizer Eli Pariser warned us to beware of filter bubbles, in which search engines, rather than functioning like impartial encyclopedias, instead deliver fact, fiction, and falsehoods with equal standing and confirm our biases in advance — sometimes with unsettling results. The term “post-truth politics” was coined in 2010 by environmental blogger David Roberts. George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, recently a bestseller on Amazon, envisions a world in which misinformation is so pervasive that two plus two is widely believed to equal five. It was published in 1949.
Despite these warnings, truth in the digital era is threatened by an array of factors:
- The internet has decentralized communication, allowing individuals to operate like media organizations — but without editorial boards and fact-checkers.
- The volume of information available threatens to overwhelm anyone trying to find factual needles in a haystack of opinions. This is compounded by a growing inability to tell the difference. A recent study by the Stanford Graduate School of Education found that more than 80 percent of middle-school students could not distinguish between journalism and advertising.
- Social media amplifies misinformation. Jonathan Albright, an assistant professor of communications at Elon University in North Carolina, mapped the connections among hundreds of fake-news sites. “When you look at it in 3D, it actually looks like a virus,” he told The Guardian. “And Facebook was just one of the hosts for the virus that helps it spread faster.”
- Digital tools enable us to fabricate evidence. We can create and find ample “proof” to support our beliefs, regardless of their alignment with reality. I use Photoshop like it’s my third arm and know how easy it is to make altered images, and how convincing they can be. Now Adobe is developing software that’s been described as “Photoshop for audio.” In a few years we might not be able to believe what we’ve heard, much less what we’ve seen.
We all now have differing opinions about not just how to interpret facts but about whether those facts are in fact facts. Where does that leave foundations and nonprofits? Luckily, there are two key things working in our favor: trust and truth.
Sustaining Trust
According to a recent survey by the nonprofit coalition Independent Sector, 78 percent of Americans believe government should collaborate more with foundations and nonprofits to solve problems. (That view was even more prevalent among young people.) An overwhelming majority, 85 percent, think that nonprofits should be able to communicate with policy makers under the same rules that apply to corporations. The survey also found that people responded most strongly to messages highlighting nonprofits’ local connections and the direct service they provide to their communities.
Nearly one in 10 people in the United States is employed by a nonprofit organization, and many more volunteer. While trust in other institutions is declining, people look to foundations and nonprofits for solutions because of our deep roots in communities. We have an opportunity to lead with confidence, knowing that our network is wide and strong.
Public trust in foundations and nonprofits can also be mobilized into direct support. For example, in January the American Civil Liberties Union received more online donations in one weekend than it normally gets in a year. This was due in large part to well-known people and companies publicly supporting the organization — backing that springs from trust built by every ACLU staff member working on day-to-day tasks in service to their mission.
Trust, though, is not self-sustaining. It requires building authentic, thriving relationships. To do this, we can:
Learn to work sensitively, respectfully, and effectively across race, class, and cultural lines. That means understanding how to truly listen to others and be curious about their differences, making sure that when we write and speak for our nonprofit, we demonstrate that we understand others’ points of view.
Highlight actions and benefits that resonate broadly. When nonprofits collaborate, especially bringing together people who work on different missions, they have greater impact. No mission is an island.
Engage youth. Young people have a direct and often disproportionate stake in many of the challenges that foundations and nonprofits address. They are an energized resource for reaching more deeply into their communities and bringing fresh perspectives and approaches to our work. And as they explore their own values and political ideas, many young people are highly motivated toward action. They may be our strongest supporters in the years ahead.
Be unflinching champions for our causes. Our mission statements are lines in the sand. They don’t just describe our work; they remind us why we do it. When foundations and nonprofits proudly defend their work, regardless of the consequence, the public’s long-term trust in and support for them deepens.
Faith in Facts
Two plus two still equals four. Our medical treatments, energy grids, financial markets, digital devices, and even body chemistry would not function without adherence to a fact-based reality. Nor will the nonprofit world.
Foundations and nonprofits seek proven strategies for change. We rely on accurate data and strive to get people involved in our causes by sharing real stories of how people are struggling, and innovating. We have a culture of learning and transparency, in which we share lessons about what’s worked and what hasn’t. We are humble, curious, and ask questions before prescribing answers.
These values may help explain why our organizations are so trusted in the first place. To ensure that we honor and maintain that trust, nonprofits and others involved in social change can:
Create an editorial board, formal or informal. It could be just one person who’s willing to fact-check, provide feedback on your logic, or question your sources. This is helpful whether you’re writing an in-depth report, a blog post, or a tweet on a controversial topic.
Reduce information overload by asking whether what you’re about to share has a purpose. Is it informative or helpful? Does what you’ve written respect others’ time by being concise and relevant?
Avoid reposting or linking to false information. Fake news rises to the top of search-engine and social-network algorithms because it is shared so often. Instead, ignore it and post a true assessment of an issue without mentioning or correcting the falsehood, which may just reinforce it.
Invest in evaluation and storytelling. Do what you can to spread knowledge about your organization’s work. No matter what problem you are trying to solve, there is a story worth telling, and there are ways to evaluate the impact of your work.
These commitments add time to the communications process, but they are vital to sustaining our work and achieving our missions. To thrive in a post-fact world, we must stand by our values and, above all, by the truth.
Sarah Moore is communications and marketing manager at Active Living By Design, a nonprofit that works with cities and towns to help them improve the health and well-being of their residents.
