Americans need to know what is fact and fiction
Once the fatigue of over a year of lockdowns and the elation of being vaccinated passes, it’s likely most Americans will be so enamored of the return to normalcy they’ll fail to consider some key coronavirus-related initiatives that could strengthen and unite our country while addressing an issue that always has been lurking just below the surface.
Mount a national ‘Facts for America’ campaign
Thanks to mis- and disinformation regarding COVID-19 and other issues spread by selected politicians, their supporters and some members of the rightwing media, truth has suffered a major setback in our country.
In a 2018 study analyzing “truth decay,” RAND Corporation noted other factors contributing to the increasing vulnerability of truth in America. “As the nation’s information system has become increasingly complex,” it said, “competing demands and fiscal constraints on the educational system have reduced the emphasis on civic education, media literacy and critical thinking.”
A public-private partnership-based campaign could effectively address this issue. Supported by all levels of government, a coalition including social media companies and other corporations, major advertising, marketing and public relations agencies and associations, traditional media, universities, nonpartisan fact-checking services such as Politifact.com and Factcheck.org, and civic-minded individuals could break through the national clutter of information overload and help restore factual information to national conversations about leading topics.
Some elements of a campaign already exist, such as former Microsoft exec Steve Ballmer’s Usafacts (www.usafacts.org), which presents standardized data from government agencies on various topics in plain language, and an unbiased format, and with great visuals.
Over time, more citizens would be better able to separate fact from opinion and disinformation (deliberate spreading of lies) from anecdotes. Ultimately, faith in government and other institutions, which registered historic lows in a 2020 Gallup poll, could improve. Such developments would augur well for the future of democracy in America.
Raise awareness of mental health
Mental health was “mainstreamed” by COVID-19 as a growing problem. It affects millions dealing with bereavement, loss of employment/income and escalating anxiety. Before COVID-19, nearly 20% of U.S. adults (47 million) reported having a mental illness in the past year, and a mid-july 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll showed 53% of adults reported specific negative impacts on their mental health and well-being.
Medicaid and Medicare are the largest payers of behavioral health services in the country, providing states with block funding. As with Covid-related programs, though, states are free to design and fund their own mental health systems. Many primarily direct funding to state hospitals, but youth-focused programs typically are underfunded. President Joe Biden’s recently passed American Rescue Plan Act provides $40 million in grants that support community mental health treatment, training and promotion.
If we have learned anything from the COVID crisis and events – including the Jan. 6 insurrection – it should be that truth-based public education campaigns are vital to a well-functioning democracy.
Jim Simon is a central Ohio resident and former chief communications officer of several corporations. jimsimon.voices@gmail.com