tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/public-trust-13844/articlesPublic trust – The Conversation2024-03-12T19:15:10Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250802024-03-12T19:15:10Z2024-03-12T19:15:10ZAI is creating fake legal cases and making its way into real courtrooms, with disastrous results<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581132/original/file-20240312-16-84kk3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C24%2C4082%2C2713&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lady-justice-on-digital-background-concept-1044578125">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’ve seen deepfake, explicit images of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/arts/music/taylor-swift-ai-fake-images.html">celebrities</a>, created by artificial intelligence (AI). AI has also played a hand in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ghosts-of-the-past-pop-music-is-haunted-by-our-anxieties-about-the-future-218555">creating music</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/bringing-ai-up-to-speed-autonomous-auto-racing-promises-safer-driverless-cars-on-the-road-214208">driverless race cars</a> and spreading <a href="https://theconversation.com/misinformation-how-fact-checking-journalism-is-evolving-and-having-a-real-impact-on-the-world-218379">misinformation</a>, among other things.</p>
<p>It’s hardly surprising, then, that AI also has a strong impact on our legal systems.</p>
<p>It’s well known that courts must decide disputes based on the law, which is presented by lawyers to the court as part of a client’s case. It’s therefore highly concerning that fake law, invented by AI, is being used in legal disputes. </p>
<p>Not only does this pose issues of legality and ethics, it also threatens to undermine faith and trust in global legal systems.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lawyers-are-rapidly-embracing-ai-heres-how-to-avoid-an-ethical-disaster-221135">Lawyers are rapidly embracing AI: here's how to avoid an ethical disaster</a>
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<h2>How do fake laws come about?</h2>
<p>There is little doubt that generative AI is a powerful tool with transformative potential for society, including many aspects of the legal system. But its use comes with responsibilities and risks.</p>
<p>Lawyers are trained to carefully apply professional knowledge and experience, and are generally not big risk-takers. However, some unwary lawyers (and <a href="https://reason.com/volokh/2023/11/13/self-represented-litigants-use-ai-to-write-briefs-produce-hallucinated-citations/">self-represented</a> litigants) have been caught out by artificial intelligence.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="ChatGPT on a smartphone screen in front of the same website on a laptop screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581133/original/file-20240312-16-rhmkk1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, can provide incorrect information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chatgpt-chat-bot-screen-seen-on-2237655785">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>AI models are trained on massive data sets. When prompted by a user, they can create new content (both text and audiovisual). </p>
<p>Although content generated this way can look very convincing, it can also be inaccurate. This is the result of the AI model attempting to “fill in the gaps” when its training data is inadequate or flawed, and is commonly referred to as “<a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/June/humans-and-ai-hallucinate">hallucination</a>”.</p>
<p>In some contexts, generative AI hallucination is not a problem. Indeed, it can be seen as an example of creativity. </p>
<p>But if AI hallucinated or created inaccurate content that is then used in legal processes, that’s a problem – particularly when combined with time pressures on lawyers and a lack of access to legal services for many. </p>
<p>This potent combination can result in carelessness and shortcuts in legal research and document preparation, potentially creating reputational issues for the legal profession and a lack of public trust in the administration of justice.</p>
<h2>It’s happening already</h2>
<p>The best known generative AI “fake case” is the 2023 US case <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2022cv01461/575368/54/">Mata v Avianca</a>, in which lawyers submitted a brief containing fake extracts and case citations to a New York court. The brief was researched using ChatGPT. </p>
<p>The lawyers, unaware that ChatGPT can hallucinate, failed to check that the cases actually existed. The consequences were disastrous. Once the error was uncovered, the court dismissed their client’s case, sanctioned the lawyers for acting in bad faith, fined them and their firm, and exposed their actions to public scrutiny.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-is-everywhere-including-countless-applications-youve-likely-never-heard-of-222985">AI is everywhere – including countless applications you've likely never heard of</a>
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<p>Despite adverse publicity, other fake case examples continue to surface. Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, gave his own lawyer cases generated by Google Bard, another generative AI chatbot. He believed they were real (they were not) and that his lawyer would fact check them (he did not). His lawyer <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/ex-trump-fixer-michael-cohen-says-ai-created-fake-cases-court-filing-2023-12-29">included the cases</a> in a brief filed with the US Federal Court.</p>
<p>Fake cases have also surfaced in recent matters in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lawyer-chatgpt-fake-precedent-1.7126393">Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/litigant-unwittingly-put-fake-cases-generated-by-ai-before-tribunal">the United Kingdom</a>.</p>
<p>If this trend goes unchecked, how can we ensure that the careless use of generative AI does not undermine the public’s trust in the legal system? Consistent failures by lawyers to exercise due care when using these tools has the potential to mislead and congest the courts, harm clients’ interests, and generally undermine the rule of law.</p>
<h2>What’s being done about it?</h2>
<p>Around the world, legal regulators and courts have responded in various ways. </p>
<p>Several US state bars and courts have issued guidance, opinions or orders on generative AI use, ranging from responsible adoption to an outright ban. </p>
<p>Law societies in the UK and British Columbia, and the courts of New Zealand, have also developed guidelines. </p>
<p>In Australia, the NSW Bar Association has a <a href="https://inbrief.nswbar.asn.au/posts/9e292ee2fc90581f795ff1df0105692d/attachment/NSW%20Bar%20Association%20GPT%20AI%20Language%20Models%20Guidelines.pdf">generative AI guide</a> for barristers. The <a href="https://lsj.com.au/articles/a-solicitors-guide-to-responsible-use-of-artificial-intelligence/">Law Society of NSW</a> and the <a href="https://www.liv.asn.au/Web/Law_Institute_Journal_and_News/Web/LIJ/Year/2023/09September/How_lawyers_are_using_generative_AI.aspx">Law Institute of Victoria</a> have released articles on responsible use in line with solicitors’ conduct rules.</p>
<p>Many lawyers and judges, like the public, will have some understanding of generative AI and can recognise both its limits and benefits. But there are others who may not be as aware. Guidance undoubtedly helps. </p>
<p>But a mandatory approach is needed. Lawyers who use generative AI tools cannot treat it as a substitute for exercising their own judgement and diligence, and must check the accuracy and reliability of the information they receive.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-trust-ai-to-write-the-news-it-already-is-and-not-without-issues-216909">Do you trust AI to write the news? It already is – and not without issues</a>
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<p>In Australia, courts should adopt practice notes or rules that set out expectations when generative AI is used in litigation. Court rules can also guide self-represented litigants, and would communicate to the public that our courts are aware of the problem and are addressing it.</p>
<p>The legal profession could also adopt formal guidance to promote the responsible use of AI by lawyers. At the very least, technology competence should become a requirement of lawyers’ continuing legal education in Australia. </p>
<p>Setting clear requirements for the responsible and ethical use of generative AI by lawyers in Australia will encourage appropriate adoption and shore up public confidence in our lawyers, our courts, and the overall administration of justice in this country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vicki McNamara is affiliated with the Law Society of NSW (as a member).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Legg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Generative AI can be a useful tool, but it can also create inaccurate information. Here’s how to safeguard Australian courts against fake cases, like we’ve already seen overseas.Michael Legg, Professor of Law, UNSW SydneyVicki McNamara, Senior Research Associate, Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107862023-08-02T21:15:53Z2023-08-02T21:15:53ZThe illusion and implications of ‘just following the science’ COVID-19 messaging<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-illusion-and-implications-of-just-following-the-science-covid-19-messaging" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In a recent special issue of the <a href="https://www.bmj.com/canada-covid-series"><em>British Medical Journal</em></a> (<em>BMJ</em>), commentators <a href="https://theconversation.com/inquiry-must-assess-how-canadas-fragmented-covid-19-response-lost-the-publics-trust-210443">demanded accountability</a> for Canada’s COVID-19 response in the form of an independent public inquiry. If such an inquiry is held, it must examine how — and with what consequences — politicians’ pandemic messaging deflected responsibility for controversial decisions onto scientific evidence and experts.</p>
<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was common to hear politicians say that they were “just following the science” when explaining their policies. Although this may sound like a prudent way to tackle a public health crisis, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/030557321X16831146677554">our research suggests that</a> such claims can be misleading about both science and government. </p>
<p>Such claims also risk damaging the credibility of the very scientific experts who are crucial to an effective public health response.</p>
<h2>Decisions and ‘the science’</h2>
<p>Scientific evidence and advice should be a key element of elected leaders’ decision-making in a public health emergency. However, this does not mean that scientific evidence should be the only input into such decisions, or that scientific advisors are responsible for those decisions. Yet this was how “following the science” rhetoric <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/030557321X16831146677554">was often framed</a> by politicians in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom during the pandemic. </p>
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<img alt="People on the grass in a large park, sitting in white circles drawn on the grass to keep people socially distanced" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540860/original/file-20230802-25888-6zixs7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People use social distancing circles at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto in May 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span>
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<p>This messaging implied that there was such a thing as “the science,” and that it could tell politicians what to do. But as we saw repeatedly in the context of COVID-19, the scientific evidence (and experts’ interpretation of it) is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00925-7">frequently contested</a>, constantly <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-advice-on-masks-is-changing-as-coronavirus-knowledge-evolves/">evolving</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-075666">not always inclusive</a> of the specific needs of diverse population groups. </p>
<p>Science can guide decisions, but it is not a magic eight-ball <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51781-4">dictating what should be done</a>.</p>
<h2>Policy and evolving evidence</h2>
<p>Even if science could provide unambiguous answers, there are compelling reasons why it should not be the only consideration in public health decision-making. In representative democracies, politicians are elected to make decisions that balance multiple priorities and interests — including scientific evidence, but also economic impacts, budgets, ethics, equity, time constraints and public opinion. </p>
<p>This is one reason why governments in the same country or region with access to the same scientific evidence and advice made different decisions about addressing the spread of COVID-19. Governments wrestled with — and came to different decisions about — issues such as balancing the virus-containment benefits of <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2022/have-provinces-put-schools-first-during-covid/">school closures</a> with the implications for children’s well-being and parents’ labour participation.</p>
<p>If “just following the science” does not accurately represent science or policymaking, then why the ubiquitous rhetoric? These claims <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/030557321X16831146677554">can be seen as attempts</a> to de-emphasize politicians’ role in making potentially controversial decisions by <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-inquiry-the-uk-governments-pandemic-response-was-often-not-guided-by-the-science-yet-now-scientists-are-under-fire-190691">deflecting responsibility</a> onto a <a href="https://news.sky.com/video/coronavirus-if-the-science-was-wrong-is-blame-game-starting-11990862">vague process</a> (“the science”) or by positioning public servants, such as the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/organizational-structure/canada-chief-public-health-officer/role-chief-public-health-officer.html">chief public health officer of Canada</a> or provincial <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/a-new-breed-of-celebrity-in-the-age-of-covid-19-the-chief-medical-officer-1.4863943">chief medical officers of health</a> (CMOHs), <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/postpandemic/postpandemic-covid-top-doctors">as responsible for decisions</a>. </p>
<p>But this is not how governments are supposed to work in mature democracies like Canada. The convention of ministerial responsibility means that elected politicians, and not their advisors, make decisions and are accountable to the electorate. Stating or implying that policy responses are prescribed by advisors can confuse the public about who is responsible for decisions and risks weakening the relationship between public servants and politicians.</p>
<h2>Messaging and mistrust</h2>
<p>Misleading the public about the role of scientific advisors in decision-making can also undermine public trust in scientific advisors, particularly when policy decisions inevitably change or are controversial. </p>
<p>Early in the pandemic, elected leaders’ “just following the science” messaging implied that scientific evidence and advisors held straightforward answers to complex questions. As the pandemic evolved and scientific evidence, expert advice and policy decisions inevitably changed (and diverged across jurisdictions), public health restrictions <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/confusing-covid-19-advice-is-undermining-public-trust-here-s-how-to-restore-it-1.5755220">were met with public confusion</a>, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/dr-tam-fires-back-at-messaging-criticism-says-advice-evolved-with-science-1.5168731">frustration</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/02/chris-whitty-video-appears-show-verbally-abused-street">even</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02741-x">vitriol</a> that was often <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/postpandemic/postpandemic-covid-top-doctors">directed at the scientific advisors</a> who were presented as the public face of those decisions. </p>
<p>In Canada, the resulting mistrust was potentially made worse by the <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/behind-closed-doors-1">lack of transparency</a> around government decision-making, which prevented citizens from understanding the extent to which scientific advice informed policy decisions.</p>
<p>Although we cannot be certain of the reasons, public opinion polling shows that trust in Canada’s federal and provincial CMOHs as reliable sources of information on COVID-19 <a href="https://getproof.com/trust/cantrust/">declined steadily</a> between 2021 and 2023. Such an erosion of trust between scientific advisors and the public has implications for governments’ ability to handle both chronic and acute public health emergencies. </p>
<p>The role of the CMOH is designed to put a trusted scientific figure — a doctor — in front of the public to explain and make recommendations on issues from <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/8fc9-CMOH-Letter-to-Parents-and-Caregivers-Fall-Respiratory-Season.pdf">flu vaccines</a> to <a href="https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/concern-grows-in-new-brunswick-over-danger-of-vaping-products-1.4619277">vaping</a> to <a href="https://halifax.citynews.ca/2023/06/02/nova-scotias-top-doctor-urging-caution-as-wildfire-smoke-impacts-air-quality/">wildfire smoke</a>. The trust and credibility associated with being a non-partisan doctor who represents the public interest is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.07.009">crucial to the role</a> of CMOHs, but it becomes vulnerable when these officials are left to take the fall for politicians’ decisions.</p>
<h2>Trust and transparency</h2>
<p>Where should governments in Canada go from here? An independent national inquiry that investigates (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1634">among many other issues</a>) the implications of politicians’ distancing themselves from their decisions would be an important start. </p>
<p>It is in politicians’ interest to maintain relationships of trust with their senior public health officials, and between those officials and the public. Trust matters not just for managing the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136912">next pandemic</a>, but for tackling the major public health challenges of our time, including health inequities, the opioid epidemic and the existential threat of climate change. </p>
<p>Politicians should realize that deflecting blame onto “the science” in their messaging is a short-term solution that can have long-term risks, and focus instead on crafting messaging that is more transparent about how, why and by whom decisions are made.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adèle Cassola has received past funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Fafard has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Health Canada. He consults for the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.</span></em></p>During the pandemic, it was common for politicians to explain their COVID-19 policies by saying they were ‘just following the science.’ Such claims can be misleading about both science and government.Adèle Cassola, Research Director - Public Health Institutions, Global Strategy Lab, York University, CanadaPatrick Fafard, Full Professor, Faculties of Social Sciences and Medicine; Senior Investigator, Global Strategy Lab, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104432023-07-28T20:43:27Z2023-07-28T20:43:27ZInquiry must assess how Canada’s fragmented COVID-19 response lost the public’s trust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540004/original/file-20230728-27977-61wdf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=835%2C1108%2C4109%2C2798&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It is clear that some public trust in public health, science and government has been lost in Canada and around the world.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/inquiry-must-assess-how-canadas-fragmented-covid-19-response-lost-the-publics-trust" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Over the course of the pandemic, <a href="https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/current-situation.html?stat=num&measure=deaths_total&map=pt#a2">more than 53,000 Canadians died</a> and nearly five million contracted COVID-19. </p>
<p>While Canada had lower numbers of cases and deaths and higher vaccination rates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.220316">than most other G10 countries</a>, these successes mask inequities across communities, socio-economic conditions and demography. They also hide challenges in data sharing and loss of public trust over time, evidenced by the “<a href="https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20221013/04-en.aspx">freedom convoy</a>” movement that occupied Canada’s capital, Ottawa, in early 2022.</p>
<p>These and other challenges are laid out in <a href="https://www.bmj.com/canada-covid-series">a series of articles published in the <em>British Medical Journal</em> (<em>BMJ</em>) on July 24</a>, that we co-authored with other clinical, research and public health experts across Canada. Now is the time to learn from the COVID-19 response through an action-oriented, independent inquiry focused on implementation and accountability.</p>
<h2>Loss of public trust</h2>
<p>Canada’s public health response was hampered by fragmentation in decision-making, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/reports-publications/health-care-system/canada.html#a4">shared between federal and provincial/territorial</a> and sometimes municipal governments. The Public Health Agency of Canada, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/mandate/about-agency/history.html">which was created in the wake of the first SARS outbreak in 2003</a>, develops national clinical and public health guidelines while provincial and territorial health agencies make decisions for their individual jurisdictions.</p>
<p>In the absence of a co-ordinated planning and delivery authority, different public health measures were implemented in different locales. For example, measures like vaccine eligibility and mandates, masking and school closures varied among provinces.</p>
<p>The rationale and supporting evidence for these different approaches were unclear. Some variations addressed local risk factors as evidence evolved, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-075665">insufficient availability and sharing of data and analyses</a> — combined with a lack of transparency — made it hard to explain the variation to the public. Over time, this led to a loss of confidence in public health guidance.</p>
<h2>Fragmented data</h2>
<p>Part of the problem is outdated data infrastructure that isn’t able to support public health decision-making in real time. Health information systems lack integration and interoperability between data sources, even after <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/mandate/about-agency/external-advisory-bodies/list/pan-canadian-health-data-strategy-reports-summaries/expert-advisory-group-report-01-charting-path-toward-ambition.html">$130 million of investment over the past eight years</a>. </p>
<p>However, other problems are legal and cultural. Canada’s health data privacy and protection laws, developed before the era of big data applications, <a href="https://nccph.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/06/OCPHO_Report_David_Buckeridge_NCCMT_EN.pdf">create legal impediments to using and analyzing data across jurisdictions</a>. </p>
<p>These impediments were exacerbated by a culture of risk aversion among the custodians of data in different jurisdictions and organizations. This culture requires a shift from a safeguarding mindset to one of stewardship for public good.</p>
<p>Technological advances mean data no longer need to be pooled across jurisdictions. <a href="https://nccph.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2022/06/OCPHO_Report_David_Buckeridge_NCCMT_EN.pdf">Data need never leave their secure data environments</a>; instead, de-identified data may be accessed and analyzed across independent systems using federated data structures. Unfortunately, these structures were not in place at the start of the pandemic and have not been implemented over the past three years. </p>
<p>Improved data access also presumes that data are fit for purpose, and that was not the case. <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/embc/reports/covid-19_lessons_learned_report.pdf">Comparisons between jurisdictions were difficult</a> for several reasons, including policy differences in testing eligibility, types of tests, how test results were reported and how hospitalizations or deaths were attributed to COVID-19.</p>
<p>Over the course of the pandemic, most jurisdictions reported COVID-19 case numbers, but data about demographics or location were <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/embc/reports/covid-19_lessons_learned_report.pdf">withheld due to privacy concerns</a>. This lack of nuanced data left people with a lack of understanding of their personal or community-level risk factors. The lack of ability to make informed decisions contributed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0018">loss of public trust over time</a>.</p>
<p>Even worse, the initial pandemic response was ill-designed to address the socio-economic and structural inequities that led to disproportionate burdens of the pandemic. </p>
<h2>Health inequities</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/health-wellness-care/health-programs-advice/respiratory-viruses/covid-19/covid-19-pandemic-data/covid-19-archived-dashboards/covid-19-ethno-racial-identity-income/">Highest rates of COVID-19</a> cases and deaths were among racialized people, recent immigrants, lower-wage essential workers and those living in higher density and multigenerational households. </p>
<p>Case rates were highest where high-density living intersected with high-density working conditions, and were amplified by barriers to testing, vaccination and ability to isolate. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofac690">This trend did not resolve over the successive waves of the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Health data that include not only locale, but also racial identity, occupations, household size and income can help unpack social determinants of infection and health outcomes, and can be used to tailor public health programs. However, the collection of such data give rise to responsibilities to reduce inequalities, not just describe them. </p>
<p>Sadly, decisions to collect such data can be politicized. Ontario only <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-mulls-collection-of-race-based-covid-19-data-some-argue-its-2/">collected relevant data</a> after pressure from community activists and Québec resisted similar community pressure to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/25/canada-could-have-saved-more-lives-covid-crisis">collect race-based data</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-075666">Canada’s diversity was also not adequately represented at decision-making or advisory tables</a>, nor was it represented in research that generated evidence for the public health response. </p>
<p>Public health decisions involve health, social and economic tradeoffs that need to be informed not only by standard epidemiological data, but also by social science data. These data can illuminate the <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_1">social determinants of health</a>, the spread of misinformation and disinformation and political factors, such as the rise in social unrest due to public health measures. Evidence generation needs to be inclusive of diverse voices, specifically from those communities that bore the greatest burden of the pandemic.</p>
<h2>Public inquiry and reforms</h2>
<p>It is clear that some public trust in public health, science and government has been lost in Canada and around the world. This does not bode well for future threats, such as emerging pandemics, and current threats from the opioid crisis and climate change.</p>
<hr>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/let-evidence-not-opinion-guide-harm-reduction-policy-and-practice-in-canadas-drug-poisoning-crisis-207679">Let evidence, not opinion, guide harm reduction policy and practice in Canada's drug poisoning crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>For these reasons, we call for a different kind of inquiry, agreeing that another expert report packed with recommendations will gather dust and not serve to rebuild public trust. </p>
<p>We need political will to call an independent inquiry that is inclusive of a diversity of voices, accountable to communities and with a mandate to implement change. Reforms to data generation, access and use are essential in preparing for the next public health emergency.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tania Bubela receives funding from the Canadian tri-councils, Genome Canada, Genome British Columbia, Brain Canada, ALS Canada, and other philanthropic and government funders. She sits on the boards of Canadian Science Publishing and The Institute for Health System Transformation and Sustainability. With respect to COVID-19 work: she received funding from Genome Canada to conduct COVID-19 research on return to campus/work practices and served on the BC COVID-19 strategic research advisory committee, the executive governance group for the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coordination Initiative, and the Royal Society of Canada COVID-19 Task Force. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kimberlyn McGrail receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharmistha Mishra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Now is the time to learn from the COVID-19 response through an action-oriented independent inquiry focused on accountability. Reforms to data generation, access and use are essential.Tania Bubela, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityKimberlyn McGrail, Professor of Health Services and Policy Research, University of British ColumbiaSharmistha Mishra, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2059052023-05-18T12:42:27Z2023-05-18T12:42:27ZFeinstein just the latest example of an old problem: Politicians have long been able to evade questions about their ability to serve<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526913/original/file-20230517-25-ct8my0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5991%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in a wheelchair as she returns to the Senate after a more than two-month absence, May 10, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Senate%20Feinstein/de7f088c19ed478dad46dafebb75f624?Query=Feinstein%20wheelchair&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=19&currentItemNo=14">AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/with-sen-feinstein-back-in-senate-3-of-bidens-judicial-nominees-move-forward">recently returned to the Senate after an almost three-month absence</a> that – because she could not vote remotely and the Senate is closely divided – <a href="https://apnews.com/article/feinstein-resign-senate-judiciary-committee-judges-shingles-c888eaa95acc390b8a4f50864e411ca7">left the Democrats’ agenda in limbo</a>. </p>
<p>Feinstein turns 90 in June and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/us/politics/feinstein-illness-shingles-senate.html">can barely walk on her own</a>, and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/dianne-feinsteins-missteps-raise-a-painful-age-question-among-senate-democrats">her mental acuity has been in question for many years</a>. Yet she is holding on to her seat and <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3962961-california-liberal-groups-call-on-feinstein-to-resign/">won’t resign</a> despite <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dianne-feinstein-senate-shingles-biden-judiciary-committee-49374eadf516a1fb521cac466bb5d18f">fervent pleas from some within her party</a>. </p>
<p>Politicians are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.40.5.822">vulnerable when they’re accused of almost any impropriety</a> real or imagined, but <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/05/dianne-feinstein-health-concerns">physical ailments and deteriorated health</a> may be the one topic for which politicians can escape scrutiny. </p>
<h2>Health, privacy and how to be trustworthy</h2>
<p>Most people expect that their health is a private matter. And for a politician or candidate, such disclosures can be used <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/05/25/an-rx-for-politicians-full-medical-disclosure/">as political weapons by their opponents</a>. But when voluntarily entering the sphere of public service, does someone have an obligation to inform constituents about how well one is actually able to do the job?</p>
<p>Perhaps Feinstein – or her staff – knows that politicians can evade questions about their health practically with impunity. But politicians who are dodgy about their medical condition can put constituents at a disadvantage. </p>
<p>Ironically, according to my research, if Feinstein would come clean about her impairments, the media and public would probably be far more forgiving. But she seems intent on taking <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X15600732">politicians’ all-too-common route of engaging in deceptive evasion</a>. She loses trustworthiness when the public clearly sees her <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X17706960">dodging questions</a>. In <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/05/17/dianne-feinstein-absence-audio-benjamin-oreskes-cnntm-vpx.cnn">her most recent interaction with reporters</a> she was politely asked how she’s feeling. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-16/feinstein-absence-senate-washington-health">She said</a> she’s fine except for a problem with her leg. </p>
<p>The reporter courteously asked what was wrong with her leg. She said “<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/dianne-feinstein-health-return-to-senate.html">nothing that’s anyone concern but mine</a>.” Then she repeatedly asserted, falsely, “<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/dianne-feinstein-health-return-to-senate.html">I haven’t been gone</a>” from the Senate, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/05/17/dianne-feinstein-absence-audio-benjamin-oreskes-cnntm-vpx.cnn">her office appears to be further stonewalling when asked for follow-up or clarification</a>.</p>
<p>By overtly deflecting reporters’ questions – about her leg and her absences – she is probably causing people to think and obsess even more about her inadequacies as an elected official, based on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqz036">experiments I have conducted</a>. If Feinstein demonstrated a sincere, pleasant demeanor <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/05/dianne-feinsteins-return-is-a-ghoulish-spectacle.html">instead of glaring at reporters</a>, and provided transparent disclosures about her health, she would shift from being perceived as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/psq.12809">duplicitous</a> to being trustworthy, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X211045724">based on experiments I have run</a>. </p>
<h2>Precedent for secrecy</h2>
<p>Nonetheless, the default position for public figures – especially politicians – seems to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X15600732">diversionary maneuvers to evade questions</a>. And the reason may not just be a complicit <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X17744004">partisan base that allows politicians to deceive with impunity</a>. The media have long allowed politicians’ poor health to stay hidden. </p>
<p>History is full of examples of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315499055">media’s covering up politicians’ medical problems</a>. That, in turn, exacerbates a common perception <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1808516">that reporters are complicit</a> with politicians in concealing important information from the public. </p>
<p>Traditionally, reporters hate cover-ups. But the media seem to make an exception for health concerns. Reporters apparently consider it within the bounds of campaign job interviews to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993853">ask a politician whom he is having sex with</a>, <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/a6c2432390bafa8f4a9efd1340e45caf/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=25289">what type of underwear he wears</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/-check-walker-acknowledges-giving-700-ex-denies-claim-knew-was-abortio-rcna52252">how many ex-girlfriends’ abortions he paid for</a> and <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/26/rep-elect-george-santos-admits-fabricating-key-details-of-his-bio/">precisely how gay he is</a>. </p>
<p>But reporters practically become snooty, high-brow puritans at the thought of asking politicians <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-009-9217-x">whether their health will allow them to show up to work</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An older woman with black hair looking out from a desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512898/original/file-20230301-20-l24x25.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The press did not report for a long time that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, now 89 years old, had lost much of her mental sharpness and her memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sen-dianne-feinstein-d-calif-attends-a-senate-news-photo/1246880948?phrase=Feinstein&adppopup=true">Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reporters in cahoots</h2>
<p>Sen. Strom Thurmond did not retire until he was 100 years old, and <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/14/joe-biden-shows-why-politicians-need-age-limits/">reporters largely kept</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/26/the-seniority-of-strom-thurmond/b0e1ed9d-f150-4261-b7c5-ed1f57dd1e06/">his cognitive ailments hidden</a>. <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article248666375.html">Like Feinstein</a>, Thurmond often showed evidence of cognitive decline when speaking.</p>
<p>An extreme example of this phenomenon of politicians deceiving is provided by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/02/02/george-santos-lies-psychology-bernie-madoff/">serial liar Rep. George Santos</a>. Unlike most politicians who lie about their health to sound as if they are impervious to maladies, the New York lawmaker took the opposite approach while campaigning for Congress. Santos listed all sorts of health problems he suffers from: acute chronic bronchitis, a brain tumor, an immunodeficiency and susceptibility to cancer. </p>
<p>Most of Santos’ claims about his life other than his health <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/01/george-santos-didnt-lie-about-being-an-early-covid-survivor.html">have been fact-checked</a>. After he was elected, the media thoroughly investigated and dispelled his claims ranging from <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/feb/22/george-santos/george-santos-said-he-never-claimed-to-be-jewish-b/">saying he was Jewish</a> to saying he had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/nyregion/santos-baruch-volleyball.html">played college volleyball</a>. But Santos’ statements about his own mental or physical abilities <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/george-santos-lies-drag-mugging-b2277226.html">seem to have gone unquestioned</a>. Santos was either lying or telling the truth about being unwell. </p>
<p>Either way, the public should have known.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a dark jacket, red tie and white shirt raising his right hand and looking upward." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512901/original/file-20230301-20-hi6apx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Despite fact-checking many of Rep. George Santos’ assertions, the press didn’t check out his claims about his health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/new-york-congressman-elect-george-santos-speaks-during-the-news-photo/1245739587?phrase=George%20Santos%20candidate&adppopup=true">David Becker/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fit for office</h2>
<p>It may be time to consider a politician’s health – literal, physical fitness for the office – to be fair game for disclosure. Asking politicians whether they have the ability to serve in office should not be off-limits, nor considered evidence of “ableism.” </p>
<p>If civil discussions of mental and physical health impairments can be held – rather than treated like stigmas that must be hidden – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.3.474">democracy would be healthier</a>. The public should be able to expect their representatives to be able to show up to work and honestly serve their constituents. And that means reporters and the general public should ask the necessary questions of their elected officials.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/politicians-health-problems-are-important-information-for-voters-but-reporters-and-candidates-often-conceal-them-200513">article</a> originally published March 3, 2023.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David E. Clementson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Physical ailments and deteriorated health may be the one area in which politicians can escape scrutiny.David E. Clementson, Assistant Professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of GeorgiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968682023-01-04T19:34:07Z2023-01-04T19:34:07ZChanging how police complaints are handled in Ontario violates the public trust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502931/original/file-20230103-70075-70igp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3600%2C2376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new law will erode public oversight into police misconduct. In this July 2021 photo, police are seen clearing a homeless encampment in Toronto.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/changing-how-police-complaints-are-handled-in-ontario-violates-the-public-trust" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Changes to how public complaints against police officers are handled will make the complaints system even more insular in Ontario.</p>
<p>Through the province’s <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/19c01">Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019</a>, the system for handling non-criminal police misconduct will quietly shift a greater portion of the system out of the public eye. </p>
<p>The act has been passed, but is not yet in force.</p>
<h2>Review came with recommendations</h2>
<p>In 2016, Justice Michael Tulloch, now the Chief Justice of Ontario, led a <a href="http://www.policeoversightreview.ca/policereport.html">systemic review of police oversight in Ontario</a>, which included comprehensive recommendations. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A Black man in a suit and glasses is seen at a news conference." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502933/original/file-20230103-101864-cx4yog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Justice Michael Tulloch discusses police street checks during a news conference in Toronto in January 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The review looked at the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-launches-police-oversight-review-in-wake-of-siu-report-on-andrew-loku-1.3559936">three police oversight bodies in Ontario</a>, including the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD).</p>
<p>It broke ground as the first and only independent systemic review of the police oversight system to tackle how complaints against police officers and police officer discipline are handled. </p>
<p>Tulloch’s report provided 129 recommendations aimed at <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2017/04/06/judges-report-recommends-more-powers-for-ontario-police-oversight-bodies.html">enhancing the public’s trust</a> in the system.</p>
<p>Although some recommendations were adopted through the 2019 act, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ways-to-improve-police-oversight-ontario-1.5780527">most were not</a>. </p>
<h2>Independent investigations</h2>
<p>The OIPRD has been in charge of handling public complaints against the police since it was established in 2007. It is Ontario’s independent police watchdog on matters of non-criminal police misconduct. The <a href="https://www.siu.on.ca/en/index.php">Special Investigations Unit</a>, on the other hand, conducts investigations of incidents involving the police that have resulted in death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. </p>
<p>In this role, the OIPRD co-ordinates with police forces in Ontario to manage the complaints intake and screening process. It also publishes the results of police misconduct hearings on its website.</p>
<p>The OIPRD can conduct misconduct investigations by itself. However, the police forces themselves take on the majority of duties associated with those investigations.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1525247018557390854"}"></div></p>
<p>The Tulloch report found that only about a third of complaints investigations were conducted by the police watchdog. It highlighted this issue “<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/02/22/whats-changing-in-fords-new-police-oversight-law-and-why-it-matters.html">as a major impediment to a good faith and impartial investigation</a>.”</p>
<p>A key recommendation was that complaints investigations should no longer be handled by police forces.</p>
<h2>A new name in police complaints probes</h2>
<p>Currently, individual police services conduct most investigations into complaints about police officers, and this will increase as a result of the 2019 act.</p>
<p>The OIPRD summarized the forthcoming changes <a href="https://www.oiprd.on.ca/changes-to-the-police-complaints-system-in-ontario/">on its website</a>, explaining how it will be renamed the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency. </p>
<p>The agency’s Complaints Director will conduct investigations into public complaints about police chiefs and deputy chiefs, other high-ranking officers and “any other complaints determined to be in the public interest.” </p>
<p>But “all other complaints will be referred back to either the police service from which they originated or another police service.”</p>
<p>Such a change shrinks the role of independent oversight into police misconduct. </p>
<h2>Transparency and public trust in the system</h2>
<p>Tulloch’s report cautioned that the current system sets up public complainants for disappointment.</p>
<p>At the conclusion of an investigation, the investigator makes a crucial decision about whether the misconduct allegations associated with a complaint are substantiated. This decision cannot be appealed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/public-complaints-police-disciplinary-hearings-1.5778459">A CBC investigation</a> found that out of all the complaints made against Toronto police officers from 2014 to 2019, only two per cent were substantiated. Only one per cent of substantiated complaints have gone before the Toronto police disciplinary tribunal. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1321375729834250240"}"></div></p>
<p>Even for substantiated complaints that go before a disciplinary tribunal, disciplinary action against the police officer is not guaranteed. </p>
<p>As a result of the 2019 act, a more limited range of police disciplinary matters will be settled through a hearing, the only public venue for adjudicating police misconduct. These changes erode public trust in the system. </p>
<p>Many complainants find that the system lacks transparency, especially at the police discipline stage. Members of the public have limited avenues for learning about how police forces address individual issues of police misconduct, let alone service-wide trends.</p>
<h2>Human rights monitoring in Ontario</h2>
<p>One of the most troubling consequences of the current system is that it prevents public agencies from monitoring systemic racism and other human rights abuses associated with non-criminal police misconduct. </p>
<p>The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/framework-change-address-systemic-racism-policing">Framework for Change to Address Systemic Racism in Policing</a> illustrates how the current system offers no tools to monitor police officers’ violations of human rights or police forces’ responses.</p>
<p>According to the commission, confidentiality provisions in Ontario’s policing laws “prevent the public from knowing when and whether an officer was subject to some form of discipline for engaging in racial profiling, racial discrimination or other police misconduct.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A crowd of people hold up Black Lives Matter signs in front of Toronto police headquarters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502934/original/file-20230103-26-fztu5i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People protest to defund the police in front of Toronto Police Service headquarters in July 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given that the <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/human-rights-and-policing-creating-and-sustaining-organizational-change/5-complaints-and-allegations-against-police">police are the largest single sector for human rights complaints</a> in Ontario, a lack of transparency around police misconduct and discipline is a human rights issue.</p>
<p>The changes from the new Ontario law will make it even harder to monitor police officer violations of human rights. These changes undermine the essential public purpose of the system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196868/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The article was completed with research from projects funded by York University, the Jack and Mae Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security, and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.</span></em></p>Upcoming changes to how complaints against Ontario police officers are processed will make it even harder to monitor human rights violations by police.Monika Lemke, PhD Candidate, Socio-Legal Studies, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1935752022-11-03T20:01:39Z2022-11-03T20:01:39ZEco-activist attacks on museum artwork ask us to figure out what we value<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493366/original/file-20221103-22-dkueq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C342%2C5452%2C3142&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police officers patrol the entrance of the Tate Modern gallery, in London, Oct. 15, 2022, after climate protesters threw soup over glass covering Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' in London's National Gallery. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the last few weeks <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/23/arts/claude-monet-mashed-potatoes-climate-activists.html">climate change activists have perpetrated various acts</a> of reversible vandalism <a href="https://twitter.com/artnews/status/1585745905512169473">against famous works of art in public galleries</a>. </p>
<p>In the latest incident on Oct. 27, two men entered <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/27/girl-with-a-pearl-earring-vermeer-just-stop-oil-protest-mauritshuis-the-hague">the Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague</a>. After taking off their jackets to reveal t-shirts printed with anti-oil slogans, one proceeded to glue his head to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/famed-girl-with-pearl-earring-painting-targeted-by-climate-activists-nos-2022-10-27/">glass overtop</a> <a href="https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/670-girl-with-a-pearl-earring/">Johannes Vermeer’s <em>Girl with a Pearl Earring</em></a>, while the other bathed the head of his partner-in-crime with what appeared to be tinned tomatoes before gluing his own hand to the wall adjacent to the painting.</p>
<p>This was just the latest in a series of similar art attacks that have peppered the news. </p>
<p>The motivation of the eco-activists involved is to draw attention to the crisis of climate change, the role of big oil in hastening the deterioration of the environment and the necessity to save our planet. </p>
<p>By attacking a famous and high-value cultural target like Vermeer’s <em>Girl with a Pearl Earring</em> — it <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335119/">even starred in its own movie</a> — the protesters are asking us to examine our values. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A gold-framed photo of a girl with a pearl earring against a green wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C194%2C4710%2C2770&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492852/original/file-20221101-28522-jen7ll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring,’ c. 1665, was recently targeted by climate activists in a protest at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Big oil protests</h2>
<p>The first Vermeer painting to come to auction for almost 80 years <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/vermeer-fetches-record-price-1.506190">sold for almost $40 million in 2004</a>. Today a Vermeer (<a href="http://www.essentialvermeer.com/how_many_vermeers.html">there are not that many)</a> could easily be valued at twice that. Whether you like Vermeer or not, the monetary value of the targets under attack enhances the sheer audacity and shock value of the current art attacks.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1585745905512169473"}"></div></p>
<p>The eco-activists want to appear to desecrate something that people associate with value and with culture. Their point is that if we don’t have a planet, we’ll lose all the things in it that we seem to value more. </p>
<p>As activist Phoebe Plummer of Just Stop Oil <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/just-stop-oil-protestor-van-gogh-sunflowers-why-video-1234643678">told NPR after being involved in the attack on Van Gogh’s <em>Sunflowers</em> at London’s National Gallery</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Since October, we have been engaging in disruptive acts all around London because right now what is missing to make this change is political will. So our action in particular <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/01/1133041550/the-activist-who-threw-soup-on-a-van-gogh-explains-why-they-did-it">was a media-grabbing action to get people talking, not just about what we did, but why we did it</a>.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Note, the idea is disruption, not destruction. As acts designed for shock value, the activists did draw immediate public attention. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1551641192617676800"}"></div></p>
<h2>Attacking art</h2>
<p>By staging their attacks in public galleries, where the majority of visitors carry cell phones, activists could be assured film and photos of the incidents would draw immediate attention. By sticking to non-corrosive substances and mitigating damage to the works under attack, they don’t draw the kind of public ire that wilful destruction would evoke. </p>
<p>In recent news, attacking art as a form of public protest has largely been limited to public monuments outside the gallery space, like the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/us/confederate-monuments-removed-2021-whose-heritage/index.html">destruction and removal of Confederate</a> or colonial statues. </p>
<p>But it’s also true that works of museum art have come under attack before. Over the course of its history, <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2019/02/19/trimmed-splashed-and-slashed-the-anatomy-of-rembrandts-the-night-watch">Rembrandt’s <em>Night Watch</em> in the Rijksmuseum</a> in Amsterdam was stabbed in two separate incidents in 1911 and 1975; in 1990, it was sprayed with acid; but all of those attacks were ascribed to individuals with unclear and less clearly rational motives. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sign seen dripping with red soup and police arresting a protestor." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492851/original/file-20221101-28436-fe2lsk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just Stop Oil protesters throw tomato soup over an outdoor sign at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in London, Oct. 17, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I see a few issues at stake with assessing what these recent art attacks could mean.</p>
<h2>1. How effective is the messaging?</h2>
<p>The activists have been articulate about their objectives, but those objectives haven’t been <a href="https://twitter.com/BrydonRobert/status/1587587106997960705">obvious to everyone who sees</a> via social media, but doesn’t stick around to hear the explanation. When a broad <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-are-climate-activists-throwing-food-at-million-dollar-paintings-180981024/">range of media</a> <a href="https://time.com/6224760/climate-activists-throw-food-at-art/">outlets all</a> perceive <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccahughes/2022/08/05/why-are-climate-activists-gluing-themselves-to-art-in-italy/?sh=1e2e8a6a246a">the need to publish</a> editorials on why eco activists are targeting art, something is getting lost in translation.</p>
<p>People see the endangerment of the works of art, but may ascribe that to the activists, not to the planetary erosion wrought by climate change. I don’t think everyone is getting the message.</p>
<h2>2. Possible misplaced outrage</h2>
<p>The incidents up until now have been pretty effective and harmless acts. But what if something is irreparably damaged? People will be outraged, but they’ll still be outraged about the art, not about the planet. </p>
<p>And while there will be a call for stiff prison sentences, precedent suggests that’s an unlikely outcome. </p>
<p>A man who damaged a Picasso valued at $26 million USD at the Tate Modern <a href="https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/tate-modern-picasso-damaged-man-sentenced-1234569349">in London in 2020 was sentenced to 18 months in jail</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Violation of public trust</h2>
<p>The third effect is what I consider a violation of the public trust, and this gives me pause. Works of art, even the most famous ones, lead precarious lives of constant endangerment; war, weather, fire, floods. The protesters are destabilizing the idea that public galleries are “safe” spaces for works of art, held in public trust. </p>
<p>As fari nzinga, inaugural curator of academic engagement and special projects at the <a href="https://www.speedmuseum.org/">Speed Art Museum</a> in Louisville, KY, pointed out in a 2016 paper: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The museum doesn’t serve the public trust simply by displaying art for its members, <a href="https://incluseum.com/2016/11/29/public-trust-and-art-museums">it does so by keeping and caring for the art on behalf of a greater community of members and non¬members alike</a>, preserving it for future generations to study and enjoy.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Right now these acts, no matter how well-intentioned, could lead to increased security and more limited access, making galleries prisons for art rather than places for people. </p>
<p>At the same time, part of the activsts’ point is that economy that sustains <a href="https://grist.org/climate/can-art-museums-survive-without-oil-money/">big oil is entwined with arts infrastructure</a> and the art market.</p>
<h2>The thing that saves us?</h2>
<p>The pandemic taught us, I think, that art could be the thing we share that saves us; think of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q734VN0N7hw">people during quarantine in Italy singing opera together from their balconies</a>. </p>
<p>Eco-activists engaged in performance protests ask us to question our public institutions and make us accountable for what they, and we, value. Their climate activism is dedicated to our shared fate.</p>
<p>If you’re willing to fight for the protection of art, maybe you’re willing to fight to protect the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193575/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Hickson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Climate protesters are destabilizing the idea that public galleries are safe spaces for works of art, held in public trust.Sally Hickson, Associate Professor, Art History, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1923072022-10-23T12:30:36Z2022-10-23T12:30:36ZPolicy-makers must change direction fast in the post-pandemic era<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490417/original/file-20221018-18-907j4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C805%2C5255%2C2790&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The post-pandemic era presents an array of challenges to policy-makers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Javier Allegue Barros/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/policy-makers-must-change-direction-fast-in-the-post-pandemic-era" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>After navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians now find themselves facing still more challenges that impact their daily lives on almost every front. </p>
<p>These include an economy under pressure, a warming planet, a strapped health-care system and transforming workplaces. </p>
<p>For policy-makers, there are no easy, off-the-shelf answers. The policy environment in the late pandemic and post-pandemic era poses new obstacles to effective policy development — unless we adapt.</p>
<p>Our new environment is characterized by three key features.</p>
<h2>A trio of challenges</h2>
<p>First, <a href="https://www.edelman.ca/sites/g/files/aatuss376/files/trust-barometer/2022%20Canadian%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer.pdf">we’re in a time of declining trust in public institutions and their leaders</a>. </p>
<p>One recent survey found that more than half of respondents agreed that “<a href="https://abacusdata.ca/trust-and-disinformation-in-canada/">official government accounts</a> of events <a href="https://abacusdata.ca/trust-and-disinformation-in-canada/">can’t be trusted</a>.” </p>
<p>Furthermore, policy-makers are grappling with increasingly complex and interrelated challenges that demand co-ordinated, sustained inter-governmental effort. </p>
<p>Finally, the compounding impacts of global problems like climate change mean we’re also facing a more uncertain policy environment in which long-term planning is increasingly difficult.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.csagroup.org/article/public-policy/navigating-complexity-policy-making-for-an-evolving-world/">The first report</a> published by the newly launched <a href="https://www.csagroup.org/public-policy/">CSA Public Policy Centre</a>, where I hold an executive position, suggests this outlook will make it harder for governments to implement effective programs and policies while the imperative to deliver on critical issues is greater than ever. </p>
<p>Every delayed or ineffective effort at bolstering the financial security of Canadians, including delivering affordable housing units, risks a further erosion of public trust and undermines future efforts at public engagement and outreach.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A construction worker holds a stop sign outside a building under construction." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490421/original/file-20221018-7255-8allr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Langford, B.C., has announced grants to help homebuyers cover the down payments on two-bedroom condos worth up to $450,000. A Langford condo building is seen under construction in this photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Policy strain</h2>
<p>Canada’s existing approaches to policy-making have been showing strain for some time. </p>
<p>Many Canadians struggle to access pharmacare and mental health services — as many as half of Canadians <a href="https://www.cihi.ca/sites/default/files/document/common-challenges-shared-priorities-vol-3-report-en.pdf">wait upwards of a month to receive needed mental health supports</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/mowatcentre/fixing-canadas-ei-system-is-critical-for-the-future-of-work/">employment insurance system was also designed for a labour market that no longer exists</a> and leaves too many part-time, temporary and self-employed workers behind.</p>
<p>There is general consensus on the challenges before us and what goals we want to achieve. What’s less understood and little changed in decades, are the mindset, culture and tools available to policy-makers to successfully achieve their objectives.</p>
<p>Here are three opportunities for policy-makers to consider.</p>
<h2>1. Focus on the long term</h2>
<p>Many of the issues we are confronted with today are the consequences of a prevailing mindset marked by a short-term approach and a failure to equitably consider the needs of people — especially the most vulnerable — in the decision-making process. </p>
<p>Climate change is a good example, <a href="https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/climate-change">with future generations</a> set to bear the greatest costs of insufficient actions today.</p>
<p>Refocusing on the long term impacts of choices made today and how they affect different communities requires a shift in mindset, as well as thoughtful engagement of more diverse perspectives. Done well, meaningful engagement can not only lead to better program and policy results, but also help rebuild trust in public institutions, especially among marginalized communities.</p>
<h2>2. Respond faster to emerging issues</h2>
<p>The lag between an emerging policy issue and a policy response is growing as challenges become more complex and their impacts more uncertain. Emerging technology changes human behaviours at record speed, making it difficult for regulators to rely on traditional tools to protect citizens while also fostering innovation.</p>
<p>Traditional models of policy-making cannot anticipate an array of complex challenges. Digital platforms like Uber and Airbnb are an example. </p>
<p>They scaled up so quickly a decade ago, disrupting sectors, before policy-makers could develop regulatory frameworks that accounted for medium and long-term issues such as <a href="https://urbananalyticsinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/UAI_VFH_Report_June-2019.pdf">increased gridlock</a> on city streets and a reduction in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/airbnb-listing-data-toronto-1.5116941">affordable rental stock</a>.</p>
<p>Implementing practices of regulatory innovation, which create space for policy-makers to experiment, can help bridge the gap between emerging issues and policy responses.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man stands in front of a banner that reads Stop Uber in front of the Peace Tower." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490422/original/file-20221018-9241-fy6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Taxi drivers protest against Uber during a rally on Parliament Hill in February 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Broaden collaboration</h2>
<p>Most pressing policy challenges are complex, cutting across departments and jurisdictional boundaries. Yet policy solutions are rarely conceived of with this in mind. Traditional policy-making tools restrict and limit the opportunities for potential solutions and breakthroughs.</p>
<p>There is a need to significantly improve data sharing and collaboration within government and trusted partners to understand difficult problems. </p>
<p>For example, a key challenge to ending homelessness is getting an accurate picture of how many people experience it. To this end, the B.C. Data Innovation Program has developed <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/affordable-and-social-housing/homelessness/homelessness-cohort">an integrated data project to better understand and respond to homelessness</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of people stand in front of a brown building carrying a banner that reads: where are we supposed to go?" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488929/original/file-20221010-58630-5we8hv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman addresses the crowd during a protest against Vancouver’s removal of a homeless encampment on the sidewalks in the Downtown Eastside in August 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using administrative data for the first time has allowed the B.C. government to generate an estimated number of people experiencing homelessness. This evidence base leads to better policy decisions and service delivery.</p>
<p>A new environment calls for new approaches to policy-making that can more effectively navigate the complexities of today’s world. Many of our foundational policies and programs were designed decades ago and have remained largely unchanged.</p>
<p>We know what we need to do. Now is the time to revisit how we do it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192307/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sunil Johal is currently a member of the Expert Panel on Portable Benefits providing advice to the Ontario government on the design and implementation of a portable benefits program and a member of the Expert Panel providing the City of Toronto with advice on its Long Term Financial Plan.</span></em></p>A new environment calls for new approaches to policy-making that can more effectively navigate the complexities of today’s world.Sunil Johal, David and Ann Wilson Professor in Public Policy and Society, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1788212022-03-28T15:13:44Z2022-03-28T15:13:44ZSouth Africans have low trust in their police. Here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454096/original/file-20220324-25-lrsaeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A culture of better service and use of minimal force are key to improving public confidence in the South African Police Service. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GCIS/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The legitimacy of legal authorities is recognised globally as crucial for the state’s ability to function in a justifiable and effective manner. This applies, in particular, to the police. Recently, South Africa’s Defence Minister Thandi Modise lamented the <a href="https://www.defenceweb.co.za/featured/sas-safety-and-security-machinery-will-be-restored-security-cluster/">low level of public trust</a> in law enforcement agencies in the country.</p>
<p>In particular, the minister, who also heads the country’s <a href="https://www.gov.za/about-government/justice-crime-prevention-and-security-cluster">Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster</a>, drew attention to a persisting legitimacy problem in the relationship between the police and the public.</p>
<p>To provide further context to the extent and nature of this challenge, we examine representative survey data on trends in police confidence since the late 1990s. The data shows that public trust in the police has been low throughout most of the democratic period. Between 2020 and 2021, however, there was significant drop in the level of trust ordinary people had in the police. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/media-briefs/dces/changing-patterns-of-trust-in-sa-police">Our research</a> outlines some of the drivers of general attitudes towards the law enforcement. We hope that this work will be used to design interventions to restore the public’s faith in the police. </p>
<h2>Tracking confidence in the police</h2>
<p>Views on crime and policing in the country have been a thematic priority in the <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/sasas">South African Social Attitudes Survey series</a> since its inception in 2003. This series is conducted annually by the <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en">Human Sciences Research Council</a> using face-to-face interviews, and has been designed to be nationally representative of the adult population aged 16 years and above. Each year, between 2500 and 3200 people are interviewed countrywide. The data are weighted using <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/">Statistics South Africa</a>’s most recent mid-year population estimates.</p>
<p>The survey series builds on earlier representative public opinion surveying at the council known as Evaluation of Public Opinion Programme series. On certain topics (such as policing) this allows us to extend the period of analysis back to before the early 2000s.</p>
<p>The pattern of public confidence in the police over the 1998 to 2021 period is presented in Figure 1. Trust levels have remained relatively low over this period. Not once during this 23-year interval did more than half the adult public say that they trusted the police. It would seem that the issue of low trust in the police is not new. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451099/original/file-20220309-27-9zhl8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1: Confidence in the police, 1998-2021 (% trust/ strongly trust)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HSRC EPOP 1998-2001; HSRC SASAS 2003-2021</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Between 1998 to 2010, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static. It ranged between 39% and 42% in all but a few years. This was followed by a sharp decline between 2011 and 2013, following the <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2021/08/16/the-marikana-massacre-s-effect-on-the-law-and-sa-s-union-landscape">killing by police of 34 striking miners at Marikana</a>, North West Province, in August 2012. But confidence had almost returned to the 2011 level by 2015. </p>
<p>The 2016 to 2020 period was characterised by modest fluctuation between 31% and 35%. The <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-ramaphosa-announces-nationwide-lockdown">hard COVID-19 lockdown</a> imposed by the state <a href="https://www.gov.za/covid-19/about/about-alert-system">in 2020</a> saw <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/africasource/pandemic-policing-south-africas-most-vulnerable-face-a-sharp-increase-in-police-related-brutality/">instances</a> of police brutality. However, we did not observe a decline in public confidence in the police during the the 2020 period.</p>
<p>In 2021 public trust in the police dipped to a low 27%. This appears to be linked to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-lies-behind-social-unrest-in-south-africa-and-what-might-be-done-about-it-166130">July 2021 social unrest</a>. Many have <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2022/02/21/in-quotes-cele-explains-how-saps-fell-short-in-responding-to-july-unrest">criticised</a> the police for poor performance of during the unrest. </p>
<p>Substantial provincial variation in trust in the police underlies this national trend (Table 1). Looking at the 2011-2021 period, we find that adults in the Western Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng provinces have consistently reported lower levels of trust in the police than the national average. The country has nine provinces.</p>
<p>The distinct decline in trust observed between 2020 and 2021 was unevenly reflected across provinces. The largest decline was in the Western Cape. It fell more than 20 percentage points, greatly exceeding the national decline of 7 percentage points. This may reflect a failure to rein in <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/we-need-each-other-pleads-western-cape-police-boss-at-emotional-community-meeting-on-crime-20220315">gangsterism</a> in that province. More moderate (but still sizeable) declines were identified in Limpopo, Northern Cape, and Gauteng.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=187&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=187&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=187&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451096/original/file-20220309-20-144x2sw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Table 1: Provincial trends in police confidence, 2011-2021 (% trust / strongly trust)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HSRC SASAS 2011-2021</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Factors affecting confidence in the police</h2>
<p>Based on the survey evidence, various factors influence public trust in, and legitimacy of, the police in South Africa. These are briefly summarised below. </p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Experiences of crime:</strong> Those who had been recent victims of crime displayed significantly lower levels of trust in the police. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Fear of crime:</strong> Higher levels of fear are associated with lower trust in the police. This applies to classic measures such as fear of walking alone in one’s area after dark, as well as worrying about home robbery or violent assault. These associations have been found across multiple rounds of surveying. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Experiences of policing:</strong> Negative experiences with police have a bearing on how the public judge police. Those reporting unsatisfactory personal contact with police officers expressed lower trust levels than those reporting satisfactory contact. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Well publicised instances of police abuse or failure</strong>: These can also reduce public confidence in police. Apart from the the <a href="https://theconversation.com/marikana-shining-the-light-on-police-militarisation-and-brutality-in-south-africa-44162">2012 Marikana massacre</a>, another prominent example is the perceived ineffectiveness of the police in responding to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-lies-behind-social-unrest-in-south-africa-and-what-might-be-done-about-it-166130">July 2021 social unrest</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Perceptions of police corruption:</strong> These have a strong, negative effect on confidence in police. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Perceived fairness and effectiveness:</strong> <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rego.12012">Past in-depth research</a> has shown that the South African public strongly emphasises both fairness and effectiveness as important elements in their overall assessments of confidence in police. The more the police are seen to be acting unfairly on the basis of race, class or other attributes, the more people are likely to view them as untrustworthy.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Similarly, perceptions that the police treat people disrespectfully, lack impartiality in their decision making, or transparency in their actions, can also undermine public confidence. If the police are seen as ineffective in preventing, reducing and responding to crime, this will also diminish confidence. </p>
<p>Another factor influencing how the public view the police is the broader evaluation of the government’s democratic performance and trustworthiness. Importantly, public confidence in democratic institutions has shown a strong downward trend over the <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-data/view/7843">past 15 years</a>. This has had a bearing on confidence in the police.</p>
<h2>Polishing the tarnished badge</h2>
<p>Low and diminishing confidence in the police, if left unchecked, will continue to undermine police legitimacy in South Africa. Recent recommendations put forward by the <a href="https://issafrica.org/">Institute of Security Studies</a> could improve public attitudes towards the police. </p>
<p>They include dispensing with an excessively hierarchical police culture, promoting <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/sa-police-failures-demand-urgent-reform-before-its-too-late">competent and ethical police leadership</a>, as well as strengthening other parts of the overall system of police governance. </p>
<p>Key also is the implementation of a <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/south-africas-police-a-rigid-bureaucracy-struggling-to-reform">non-militaristic policing ethos</a>. This should be framed around a service culture and use of minimal force. It also requires police to put more measures in place to monitor and control the use of force, and promote a <a href="https://issafrica.org/research/southern-africa-report/how-to-reduce-police-brutality-in-south-africa">culture of police accountability</a>.</p>
<p>These ideas warrant serious attention. They matter fundamentally for preventing further instances of <a href="https://mg.co.za/politics/2021-04-25-when-violence-is-policy-how-do-we-curb-police-brutality/">police misuse of force</a>, <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-03-22-the-collateral-damage-of-south-africas-police-leadership-feud-sees-civilians-vulnerable-while-crime-spirals/">corruption</a> among senior officials, and <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/560270/the-crimes-that-are-getting-worse-in-south-africa/">police ineffectiveness</a> in handling crime. This is crucial for stemming and reversing the eroding confidence in the badge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Roberts receives funding from various government and non-government institutions for commissioned research as part of the HSRC South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) series. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Gordon is employed at the Human Sciences Research Council. He is affiliated with the University of Johannesburg. </span></em></p>Perceptions that South African police treat people disrespectfully, lack impartiality or transparency, and are prone to brutality
undermine public confidence in them.Benjamin Roberts, Acting Strategic Lead: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) research division, and Coordinator of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), Human Sciences Research CouncilSteven Gordon, Senior Research Specialist., Human Sciences Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1775862022-03-09T14:30:07Z2022-03-09T14:30:07ZSocial media is being misused in Kenya’s political arena. Why it’s hard to stop it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448083/original/file-20220223-13-rn4ett.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Kenya, social media has become a new battleground in electoral campaigns. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The information landscape in Africa – as elsewhere in the world – has expanded exponentially over the last decade. The proliferation of platform media, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, has been instrumental in this expansion. This has created important new debating spaces. </p>
<p>These platforms have <a href="https://issafrica.org/iss-today/social-media-and-the-state-challenging-the-rules-of-engagement">now become essential</a> for political campaigns across the continent. In Kenya, for example, social media has turned into a powerful new battleground in electoral politics.</p>
<p>Traditionally, political debates have been shaped by mainstream media. However, over the years, <a href="https://internews.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/2021-03/KMAReport_Final_20210325.pdf">public trust in these media</a> has waned. The country’s mainstream media remains strongly wedded to factional ethnic and class interests. This has increasingly undermined its capacity to facilitate fair and open debate. This is particularly true during elections.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/journalism-has-changed-education-must-reflect-the-reality-176944">Journalism has changed. Education must reflect the reality</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Social media platforms have exploited this trust deficit, acting as important alternative sites for political deliberation. However, they have also become powerful tools for disinformation and misinformation. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/new-research-in-kenya-disinformation-campaigns-seek-to-discredit-pandora-papers/">recent report</a> by the Mozilla Foundation, which campaigns for an open and accessible internet, there is now a relatively well-established disinformation industry in Kenya. It is largely driven by social media influencers. </p>
<p>Over the last 10 years, I have carried out research on the interface between digital technologies and politics in Kenya. The Mozilla report demonstrates what I’ve witnessed – the evolution of the political role of some of the country’s digital spaces.</p>
<p>There is no evidence that disinformation and misinformation practices can on their own influence the outcome of elections. Nevertheless, they pose a danger to democratic processes. </p>
<p>They also poison an important space in which deliberative politics should take place. In politically charged environments, such as Kenya’s, they have the capacity to exploit long-held divisions with the potential to trigger violence.</p>
<h2>Manipulation tools</h2>
<p>The Mozilla Foundation report notes that social media influencers are capable of manipulating Twitter’s algorithms to determine trending topics. This is significant because such topics tend to shape editorial agendas outside the online platform. </p>
<p>The report identifies the use of a combination of methods to facilitate manipulation. One is the use of sock puppet accounts – multiple accounts controlled by the same user. Another is astroturfing. This is the practice of masking the sponsors of online messages so that they appear organic.</p>
<p>Using these kinds of tools, social media influencers can counter any negative stories about the people who are paying them – or malign opponents. </p>
<p>The Mozilla report cites the online reaction to the Pandora Papers leaks. This was an investigative report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that exposed a <a href="https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/">“shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful”</a>. </p>
<p>The papers revealed how powerful individuals, including the family of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, were using tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions to avoid public scrutiny of their assets. The authors of the Mozilla report uncovered a sophisticated strategy to counter the largely incriminating evidence against the president’s family. It involved astroturfing and the use of hashtags such as #phoneyleaks and #offshoreaccountsfacts. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-users-in-kenya-and-south-africa-trust-science-but-still-share-covid-19-hoaxes-157894">Social media users in Kenya and South Africa trust science, but still share COVID-19 hoaxes</a>
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<p>Disinformation and misinformation practices, especially at election time in Kenya, aren’t new. But platform media provide easier and faster ways of fabricating information and distributing it at scale. Those involved are doing so with little fear due to the platforms’ ability to enable anonymity and pseudonimity. </p>
<p>The rise of these practices was evident in Kenya’s 2017 elections, attracting both local and international actors. An example was the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/01/texts-lies-and-videotape-kenya-election-fake-news/">infamous ‘Cambridge Analytica’</a> case. This involved massive data manipulation done through the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.co.za/cambridge-analytica-a-guide-to-the-trump-linked-data-firm-that-harvested-50-million-facebook-profiles-2018-3?r=US&IR=T">deliberate posting of fake news</a>.</p>
<p>There is evidence that these practices are on the rise for the upcoming <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/editions/kenya-election-2022/">poll scheduled for August 2022</a>.</p>
<h2>Why solutions are hard to come by</h2>
<p>Disinformation and misinformation practices involve big tech companies, governments and the public. Their interests and priorities don’t always converge. This makes policy responses particularly challenging. </p>
<p>In addition, many governments are failing to act because of conflicting demands. On the one hand, they need to protect the public from perceived harmful information. On the other, they need to protect citizens’ rights to information and freedom of expression.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/punitive-laws-are-failing-to-curb-misinformation-in-africa-time-for-a-rethink-162961">Punitive laws are failing to curb misinformation in Africa. Time for a rethink</a>
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<p>It gets even more complicated in countries such as Kenya where the state, as well as extensions of the state, are actively involved in misinformation and disinformation campaigns. </p>
<p>In Kenya, media owners are typically the beneficiaries of a licensing regime that rewards supporters of the government. In most cases, these politicians are keen to use their media for political mobilisation, sometimes through misinformation and disinformation campaigns. This can involve politicians actively undermining potentially effective policy responses that don’t suit their interests. </p>
<p>Another major problem is that social media influencers have a financial incentive to participate in disinformation practices. Political players are spending large amounts of money online to <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/01/texts-lies-and-videotape-kenya-election-fake-news/">popularise their candidature and undermine opponents</a>. These online platforms offer immediacy and scale. </p>
<p>Still, some policy responses from Canada and Sweden could form the basis for the development of local solutions.</p>
<p>Canada has taken the problem out of the state’s hands. It has done this by creating a nonpartisan panel tasked with decisions on disinformation practices. In Sweden, intelligence agencies work with journalists to address disinformation. As Chris Tenove, a research fellow at the University of British Columbia, <a href="https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/acrtc/prx/2020tenove.htm">puts it</a>:</p>
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<p>This uses the insights of intelligence agencies but leaves public communication up to independent journalists. </p>
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<p>These may not necessarily be the panacea to these practices. However, they offer a good starting point from which relevant context-specific responses may be developed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177586/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Ogola does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The vacuum created by a drop in public trust in mainstream platforms has given rise to new media players who don’t always play by the rules.George Ogola, Reader in Journalism, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1720372021-11-24T16:20:23Z2021-11-24T16:20:23ZHow do police regain trust after the murder of Sarah Everard?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433717/original/file-20211124-25-eq041e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5352%2C3484&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://webgate.epa.eu/?20370008538715063107&SCOPE=QUEUE&EVENT=DISPLAY&LIGHTBOX=11365">Andy Rain/EPA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ability of the British police to operate effectively depends on the consent and support of the general public. The brutal kidnapping and murder of Sarah Everhard by PC Wayne Couzens in March 2021 severely damaged public <a href="https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/crime/steve-jupp-wayne-couzens-damage-to-suffolk-police-8417076">trust</a> in the police, and their ability to “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/30/wayne-couzens-sarah-everard-women-faith-police">police by consent</a>”. </p>
<p>Long before he raped and murdered this young woman, Couzens should have been viewed as an “insider risk”, as his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/04/wayne-couzens-case-how-do-you-lose-your-job-in-the-police">previous indecent behaviour</a> should have flagged concerns. There have been reports that Couzens <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/04/wayne-couzens-case-how-do-you-lose-your-job-in-the-police">committed sexual offences</a> and exhibited extremely disturbing behaviour several years before he killed Sarah Everard, and this continued right up until just <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57780723">days before her death</a>.</p>
<p>His misuse of his authority as a serving officer to target Sarah Everard has critically undermined the reputation of the Metropolitan Police and the wider police service. And this has an impact on its ability to carry out its lawful functions.</p>
<p>For the police service, reputation and public trust are its most important assets, specifically because of the policing-by-consent approach it adopts. If the public no longer respect, support and cooperate with the police, this fundamental pact is broken.</p>
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<h2>Police failings</h2>
<p>It is easy to view this tragic case with hindsight and place greater emphasis on the actions of some who were not in possession of all the facts at the time. While considerable criticism has been made of police senior management, much of Couzens’ behaviour appears not to have been officially recorded prior to the murder.</p>
<p>It is clear that these previous incidents of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/04/wayne-couzens-case-how-do-you-lose-your-job-in-the-police">indecent behaviour</a> were not investigated properly. Might there have been a conscious – or unconscious – reluctance on the part of officers to call out one of their own? Or perhaps they were unaware that Couzens was a police officer? If investigators were aware of this fact, it might indicate a worrying culture where unacceptable behaviour by some officers is tolerated.</p>
<p>This culture has also allowed for instances of <a href="https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/recommendations/complaint-inappropriate-behaviour-officer-metropolitan-police-service-july-2018">inappropriate sexual behaviour</a> where officers have exploited their authority. Former colleagues of Couzens at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/met-police-sarah-everard-wayne-couzens-nickname-b958166.html">nicknamed him “the rapist”</a> because he made female colleagues feel uncomfortable, yet nothing was done about this. Neither was the Metropolitan Police made aware of this when he transferred forces.</p>
<p>As reported in the media recently, there have been instances of poor police behaviour where misogynistic, racist and homophobic “humour” has been shared between officers on <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/wayne-couzens-sarah-everard-killer-shared-abusive-texts-police-officers-white-1227149">private messaging networks</a>. While some might explain this as a way of <a href="https://www.police1.com/stress/articles/how-police-can-reduce-and-manage-stress-AThewNlseDwMYCcB/">coping with the emotions</a> that stem from dealing with harrowing cases, such behaviour is not an acceptable way to deal with the stresses of the job.</p>
<p>This is not about <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18725566.police-officers-face-disciplinary-action-offensive-whatsapp-messages/">freedom of speech</a> – it is about having views that are incompatible with the role of a police officer. Failure to investigate and deal appropriately with this behaviour will only further erode public trust and confidence. </p>
<h2>Changing the culture</h2>
<p>The media and politicians have been demanding that immediate action to be taken, such as the <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cressida-dick-resignation-calls-harriet-harman-murder-of-sarah-everard-121224042.html">resignations of senior officers</a>, policing in pairs, and blanket approaches to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/sarah-everard-murder-all-police-officers-should-be-re-vetted-following-wayne-couzens-case-says-former-chief-superintendent-12424756">police vetting</a>. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (<a href="https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/about-us/what-we-do/">HMICFRS</a>) required forces to re-vet all officers by July 2020, yet <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/quarter-police-forces-still-need-vet-officers-sarah-everard-nsrpkc9mn">more than a quarter</a> of police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have still not vetted all their officers.</p>
<p>However, these approaches focus on short-term solutions. To truly succeed, the right foundations must be in place to embed permanent organisational change. This must be led from the top and amount to more than lip service. Clearly some parts of the UK’s police service have lacked the will to directly challenge a culture which has allowed misogyny, sexism, bullying, racism and a lack of respect for colleagues and the public to go unchecked.</p>
<p>The tragic events of Sarah Everard’s death should be used to drive permanent change. The police service needs to fully understand, accept and manage the risks that some of its people pose to the service, and especially, to the public. It is also essential for the police to grasp the value of reputation and public trust, and mitigate any risks to them. I believe the vast majority of police officers support such an agenda for change.</p>
<p>To recover from this crisis, the issues must be addressed head on. Aberrant behaviour must be challenged and dealt with. The police service needs to actively promote a culture where <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10045531/Sarah-Everard-murder-Police-watchdog-boss-not-approach-lone-policeman-night.html">not reporting</a> a fellow police officer’s inappropriate behaviour due to fear of reprisals or being ostracised, is no longer the norm.</p>
<p>Supervisors must be encouraged to play a critical role and take action when they – or any officer – identify behaviour that is concerning. The human resources apparatus must be involved, and leadership also has a critical role in ensuring there is full transparency during this process. The police need to demonstrate to the public that a change in culture is underway. Only then will they be able to recover the trust that has been so badly eroded by this appalling murder.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172037/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David BaMaung would like to acknowledge the contribution of Sarah Austerberry to this article.</span></em></p>The police must challenge and change the damaging culture that for so long has allowed unacceptable behaviour by police officers to go unpunished.David BaMaung, Honorary professor human resource development, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1704522021-11-17T18:58:41Z2021-11-17T18:58:41ZWith a federal election looming, is there new hope for leadership on integrity and transparency?<p>As we head into a federal election campaign next year, the focus on whether government – and which party – can be trusted to govern openly and honestly for the public good is looming larger than at any time in living memory.</p>
<p>Plans to overhaul <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/11/government-reveals-plan-to-reform-australias-whistleblowing-laws">Commonwealth whistleblower protection laws</a> were revealed last week by <a href="https://am.ag.gov.au/media/speeches/national-whistleblowing-symposium-11-november-2021">Assistant Attorney-General Amanda Stoker</a>.</p>
<p>The Coalition government’s legislation for a federal integrity commission (or ICAC) is also imminent, following feedback on the <a href="https://transparency.org.au/submission-commonwealth-integrity-commission/">extensive problems</a> with its <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-proposed-commonwealth-integrity-commission-and-how-would-it-work-140734">draft bill</a> last year.</p>
<p>And a plethora of other accountability issues are awaiting action.</p>
<p>All these provide a reminder, heading into the election, that trust in government hinges not only on “performance” in a direct, hip-pocket sense. It also depends on who can be trusted to protect public decision-making from becoming a self-serving gravy train for leaders and their friends.</p>
<p>Healthy political competition on integrity issues is long overdue. Historically, both major parties have been slow to initiate the reforms needed to reverse Australia’s slide on Transparency International’s <a href="https://transparency.org.au/global-ranking/">Corruption Perceptions Index</a> or <a href="https://www.journalistsfreedom.com/aus-falls-on-press-freedom-index/">global press freedom rankings</a>.</p>
<h2>Whistleblower protections at a turning point?</h2>
<p>The Morrison government’s proposed reforms to the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2013A00133">Australia’s Public Interest Disclosure Act</a> – the law that protects federal public service whistleblowers – show that when we do catch up, we can leapfrog to being a world leader.</p>
<p>Building on major <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/whistleblowing-reforms-in-australia-show-the-way">corporate whistleblower reforms</a> in 2019, the new proposal includes world-first rights to compensation where a person with a duty to protect a whistleblower fails to do so.</p>
<p>A new whistleblower protection bill in NSW, <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/172480-watchdog-gives-new-whistleblower-protection-tick-of-approval/">just introduced by the Perrottet government</a>, is a step in the same, right direction. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-richard-boyle-and-witness-k-to-media-raids-its-time-whistleblowers-had-better-protection-121555">From Richard Boyle and Witness K to media raids: it’s time whistleblowers had better protection</a>
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<p>The public has long been in favour of effective whistleblower protection. In 2012, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/whistleblowing-survey/4054934">our research first showed</a> that over 80% of Australians believed insiders who reveal wrongdoing should be protected, even if they break official secrecy rules.</p>
<p>But the slow pace of reform stands out as a big integrity problem.</p>
<p>While Labor did finally introduce the federal whistleblower protection law in 2013, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/public-service/everyone-backs-whistleblowing-laws-so-why-are-we-still-waiting-for-them-20120929-26ryr.html">it was a full six years after it was promised</a> – and almost didn’t happen at all. </p>
<p>That was two decades after a Senate select committee, led by a Liberal senator, recommended that Australia needed national whistleblower protection laws.</p>
<p>For many, the pace of reform is still too slow. Independent <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7506180/flawed-aps-whistleblowing-laws-to-get-long-overdue-overhaul/?cs=14329">Senator Rex Patrick</a> last week described it as a “big failure” that the government has “basically run out of time” to get the new changes into law before the election.</p>
<p>Indeed, the urgency is clear. Inadequacies in the law continue to allow <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-richard-boyle-and-witness-k-to-media-raids-its-time-whistleblowers-had-better-protection-121555">long, damaging prosecutions</a> against whistleblowers such as Witness K, David McBride and Richard Boyle. </p>
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<p>And our <a href="https://www.whistlingwhiletheywork.edu.au/?p=1122">new research</a> shows that across a wide range of organisations, less than half of clearly deserving whistleblowers who suffered serious consequences got any remedies at all.</p>
<p>There remain unknowns in the government’s plan, such as when we will see a federal Whistleblower Protection Authority. This was a bipartisan recommendation of a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporations_and_Financial_Services/WhistleblowerProtections/Report">2017 joint parliamentary committee</a>, strongly supported by stakeholders such as the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=6faaab64-a2f4-475a-acba-1422323289fa&subId=509377">Law Council of Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Labor has also committed to move ahead with reform. But its own plan for a Whistleblower Protection Authority at the 2019 election was weak and under-resourced. This reinforces that for all parties, better progress on integrity issues relies not just on pace, but also on substance.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-a-nsw-premier-falls-and-sa-guts-its-anti-corruption-commission-what-are-the-lessons-for-integrity-bodies-in-australia-168932">As a NSW premier falls and SA guts its anti-corruption commission, what are the lessons for integrity bodies in Australia?</a>
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<h2>A federal integrity commission with teeth</h2>
<p>Whistleblower protection is also a key test for an even bigger reform – the government’s long-awaited federal integrity commission bill.</p>
<p>Last week, Minister Stoker gave the clearest indication yet that when the government’s bill is revealed, at least one of its major flaws – the inability of whistleblowers to take corruption concerns directly to the new ICAC - has been understood and presumably fixed.</p>
<p>It’s a promising sign, even if falling short of the fully-equipped Whistleblower Protection Authority built into all of the private members’ integrity commission bills introduced by crossbenchers Cathy McGowan, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6597">Helen Haines</a>, Rex Patrick and the Greens since 2018.</p>
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<p>The next question will be if other, equally important, issues have been addressed.</p>
<p>One is whether a federal ICAC will really have “all the powers of a royal commission”, as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/2021-07-10/13563302">twice promised</a> by Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, among other government figures. This means having the power to hold public hearings when justified, and for all federal public officials including parliamentarians – not just some.</p>
<p>Another issue is whether a federal ICAC will meet public expectations by being able to investigate and make recommendations on “grey area” corruption allegations, such as the recent “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sports-rorts-affair-shows-the-need-for-a-proper-federal-icac-with-teeth-122800">sports rorts</a>” and “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-car-park-rorts-story-is-scandalous-but-it-will-keep-happening-unless-we-close-grant-loopholes-164779">car park rorts</a>” affairs.</p>
<p>Again, the path to reform has been dogged by issues of pace and substance.</p>
<p>The federal ICAC legislation will come three years after the Coalition initially promised it. But it also took Labor over a decade to make the same promise after Transparency International Australia first called for such an agency in 2005. And when it did make the move, Labor’s original budget (since upgraded) was less than half the amount now committed under the Coalition’s proposal.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/accountability-is-under-threat-parliament-must-urgently-reset-the-balance-170530">Accountability is under threat. Parliament must urgently reset the balance</a>
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<h2>Less secretive government is needed now more than ever</h2>
<p>Global fears over governments becoming more secretive and less trustworthy should sound a warning to the Coalition and Labor alike – they need to pick up the pace.</p>
<p>The pandemic has brought new highs and lows in public trust. We can thank <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/dose-of-mateship-lifts-the-covid19-vaccine-rate/news-story/ba268f77b05f9624abe96818ec890771">our underlying trust in institutions</a> for Australians getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at a world-leading rate. Yet, at the same time, fears about the trustworthiness of our leaders are growing.</p>
<p>Even in Australia, governments have used public health to rule increasingly through <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2020/07/04/morrison-ruling-henry-viii-clauses/159378480010053#hrd">ministerial regulation and executive decree</a>, rather than the democratic process. </p>
<p>The federal government is even trying to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-is-determined-to-keep-national-cabinets-work-a-secret-this-should-worry-us-all-167540">keep National Cabinet’s minutes secret</a>, despite our federation plainly belonging to all Australian governments and citizens.</p>
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<p>Beyond these issues, other accountability priorities have languished under successive federal governments, as our <a href="https://transparency.org.au/australias-national-integrity-system/">integrity assessments</a> again show.</p>
<p>One by one, Australia’s states are moving to reform political donation and lobbying laws, and even outlaw deceptive political campaigning. But federal politics remains a <a href="https://transparency.org.au/fair-honest-democracy/">wild west of under-regulation</a>.</p>
<p>Australia’s poor showing in controlling money laundering has been highlighted by the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-11/millions-believed-laundered-at-crown-perth-via-$2-shell-company/13142104">recent allegations</a> against <a href="https://theconversation.com/illegal-dishonest-unethical-and-exploitative-but-crown-resorts-keeps-its-melbourne-casino-licence-170625">Crown Casino</a>. But we are slow to act in many other areas, like our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/09/widespread-money-laundering-in-property-locking-out-australians-from-owning-homes-senate-told">entire real estate sector</a>.</p>
<p>Stronger <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/crime/publications/government-response-senate-committee-report-combatting-corporate-crime-bill-2019">laws against foreign bribery</a> by Australian companies remain stuck in the federal parliament. Promises to end the <a href="https://www.transparency.org/files/content/publication/2015_BOCountryReport_Australia.pdf">secret shell companies</a> which facilitate corruption have been on “go slow” ever since Australia led the charge as G20 host in 2014.</p>
<p>In a time of uncertainty, the federal election provides the moment for both major parties to put teeth into their commitments to bolster public trust and finally pick up the pace of reform. Hopefully, promised whistleblower protections and a strong integrity commission will be the crucial first steps.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>A J Brown is a boardmember of Transparency International Australia. He has received funding from the Australian Research Council, all of Australia's Ombudsman offices, most of Australia's anti-corruption agencies, various other Commonwealth and State regulatory agencies and private sector peak bodies, and the Victorian Parliament for his past research on whistleblower protection and integrity systems relevant to this article. </span></em></p>The Coalition has made promises on whistleblower protection and must soon reveal its plan for a federal integrity commission. Now is the time for both parties to prove they can take real action.A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706582021-10-28T04:31:10Z2021-10-28T04:31:10ZClimate change misinformation fools too many people – but there are ways to combat it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428547/original/file-20211026-13-10hbfpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5000%2C2776&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/paris-france-aug-12-2021-woman-2044600301">Hadrian/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent decades, people in the UK have watched <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/climate-change-27">climate change</a> shift from being an abstract threat discussed on the news to an increasingly common presence in everyday life. As the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, floods and other extreme weather events has risen, so has public concern about climate change. <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-rolls-reveal-surge-in-concern-in-uk-about-climate-change">A 2019 poll</a> found 80% of people were fairly or very worried, while <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/cop26-climate-change-economy-glasgow-summit-uk-british-public-1246621">a more recent survey</a> ranked climate change as the most important issue.</p>
<p>People are more engaged with the climate crisis than ever before. But how well do they understand it? And which sources of information do they trust the most? We wanted to understand where the public gets much of its information on the topic and what the most effective ways of keeping people informed are. </p>
<p>We surveyed more than 1,700 adults living in the UK and found that almost half the sample were unable to correctly identify 50% of fake climate change news headlines, and almost half (44%) of all respondents were unaware of how often they encountered misinformation online. These numbers suggest that people need more guidance on how to effectively spot misinformation, and how to find reliable information about climate change. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Working with YouGov and The Conversation, we asked 1,722 people to read five real and four fake news headlines about climate change. Almost half (46%) mistakenly believed that “Scientists disagree on the cause of climate change” and 35% incorrectly thought that “Scientists believe the Sun has impacted the Earth’s rise in temperature”.</p>
<p>However, a majority of respondents also correctly identified fake headlines such as “Carbon dioxide levels are tiny. They can’t make a difference” (70%) and “Melting an ice cube in a measuring cup full of water doesn’t raise the water level, so melting icebergs cannot raise sea levels” (68%). </p>
<p>Over half of respondents correctly guessed the real headlines “More than one million species are at risk of extinction by climate change” (65%), “Earth had its second warmest year in recorded history in 2019” (62%), and “The worst impacts of climate change could be irreversible by 2030” (55%). </p>
<p>But only 15% knew that “Switching to jet fuel made from mustard plants would reduce carbon emissions by nearly 70%” was false, and only 34% were right in thinking that “Enough ice melted on a single day to cover Florida in two inches of water”.</p>
<p>We also asked people how much trust they had in certain sources of climate change information. While online influencers (6%), social media outlets (7%), tabloid newspapers (13%), politicians (20%), journalists (30%), broadsheet newspapers (37%), and broadcast media outlets (38%) were among the least trusted sources, the vast majority trusted academics (67%) and their own friends and family (59%) to convey information about climate change that was trustworthy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A scientist in red jacket stands before a glacier in Greenland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428564/original/file-20211026-15-1q651fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Academic researchers were the most trusted source on climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/global-warming-greenland-iceberg-landscape-ilulissat-1500740060">Maridav/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A majority of those we surveyed thought accurate reporting was important, with 78% saying that climate change misinformation is very or fairly damaging to efforts to tackle the climate crisis.</p>
<p>When asked about media coverage of climate change, 39% claimed that media reporting overall was too abstract, with excessive focus on the future rather than the issues of today. Similarly, 29% thought media coverage was confusing, citing too many conflicting opinions (55%) and a distrust of politicians (55%) and news outlets (54%).</p>
<p>Finally, the majority of respondents (59%) were worried about climate change, with an even larger majority (80%) reporting a general willingness to make relevant lifestyle changes to stem the crisis.</p>
<h2>What this means</h2>
<p>Despite widespread awareness of the problems caused by fake news, many people we surveyed didn’t recognise their own role in this process. While large majorities worried about the effects of climate change misinformation and said that they didn’t share it themselves, 24% reported hardly ever fact-checking the information they read. </p>
<p>This could suggest the public aren’t sure which sources are reliable, making them more vulnerable to the very misinformation they see as damaging to the cause of tackling climate change. </p>
<p>Clearly, more can be done to educate people on how to distinguish real from fake climate change information. One way to do this is through a process called <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-misinformation-scientists-create-a-psychological-vaccine-to-protect-against-fake-news-153024">inoculation</a>, or prebunking. </p>
<p>Just as vaccines train cells to detect foreign invaders, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/gch2.201600008">research</a> has shown that stories which pre-emptively refute short extracts of misinformation can help readers develop mental antibodies that allow them to detect misinformation on their own in the future. Recent work has even used <a href="https://crankyuncle.com/">games</a> to help people detect the larger strategies that are used to spread misinformation about climate change.</p>
<p>Although social media companies such as Facebook have <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/09/tackling-climate-change-together/">started</a> to debunk climate myths on their platform, politicians and social media outlets appear to have an untrustworthy reputation. This was not the case for sources with perceived expertise on the topic, such as scientists. We therefore recommend that the trust held towards experts should be harnessed, by more frequently disseminating their views on social media and in traditional media outlets. </p>
<p>In our survey, only 21% of people understood that between 90% and 100% of climate scientists have concluded that humans are causing climate change (99% according to a <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac2966">recent</a> paper). Decades-long campaigns by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58989374">fossil fuel companies</a> have sought to cast doubt on the scientific consensus. Media messages should therefore continue to communicate the overwhelming scientific consensus on <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33609913/">climate change</a>. </p>
<p>Through years of research on the topic, we have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03189-1">identified</a> several ingredients for trustworthy science communication. These include prebunking myths and falsehoods, reliably informing people (don’t persuade), offering balance but not false balance (highlight the weight of evidence or scientific consensus), verifying the quality of the underlying evidence, and explaining sources of uncertainty. If communicators want to earn people’s trust, they need to start by displaying trustworthy behaviour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170658/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mikey Biddlestone's research is funded by a Cabinet Office Infodemic Grant.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sander van der Linden has consulted on this research for The Conversation and receives research funding on misinformation from the UK government, Google, and the EU Commission. He consults on climate misinformation for Facebook.</span></em></p>Academics are among the most trusted sources for news about climate change.Mikey Biddlestone, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Social Decision-Making Lab, University of CambridgeSander van der Linden, Professor of Social Psychology in Society and Director, Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1637222021-07-11T20:13:12Z2021-07-11T20:13:12ZPublic trust in the government’s COVID response is slowly eroding. Here’s how to get it back on track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410501/original/file-20210709-17-1nrxpuy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=84%2C35%2C4636%2C3178&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Gray/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public trust is critically important during the pandemic. Without it, the changes to public behaviour that are necessary to contain and ultimately prevent the spread of infection are slower and more difficult to achieve. </p>
<p>In mid-2020, Australia was widely viewed by the public as having successfully managed the pandemic, especially compared to the US, UK and other European countries. Australians’ trust in their government almost <a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Is%2520Australia%2520still%2520the%2520lucky%2520country.pdf">doubled in a year from 29% to 54%</a>. </p>
<p>The same is not the case today. Australia remains locked down with a stalled vaccine rollout, while the US, UK and other countries are opening up. And public trust in the government is eroding. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/06/guardian-essential-poll-scott-morrison-approval-drops-six-points-during-latest-covid-lockdowns">Essential poll</a> last week showed people’s support of the government’s handling of the pandemic sliding nine points from 53% to 44%. And 30% of respondents described the government’s COVID strategy as poor, compared to 24% a month earlier. </p>
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<h2>Why people tend to trust government in crises</h2>
<p>It’s common for people to show support for their leaders during crises. In the initial stages of the pandemic in early 2020, <a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Is%20Australia%20still%20the%20lucky%20country.pdf">surveys</a> showed leaders in a large number of countries enjoyed an increase in public confidence. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.youtrend.it/2020/04/08/coronavirus-perche-cresce-la-popolarita-dei-leader/">approval rating</a> of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hit 71% in March 2020 – 27 points higher than the previous month – despite the fact his country was in the throes of a deadly first wave of the pandemic. </p>
<p>German Chancellor Angela Merkel <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/democratic-leaders-win-surge-of-approval-during-covid-19-crisis">saw her approval rise</a> to 79%, while the prime ministers of Canada and Australia, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison, saw similar surges in popularity during the early months of the pandemic.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=308&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409401/original/file-20210702-27-1f0qyl3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perceptions of political leadership during the pandemic, July 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adapted from Will Jennings and others, 2020, Political Trust and the Covid-19 Crisis – pushing populism to the backburner?</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The upsurge of support is partly explained by what is called the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/%7Edguber/POLS234/articles/hetherington2.pdf">“rally-round-the-flag” effect</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, Morrison’s approval rating soared on the back of his effective handling of the initial threat, judicious decision-making on early closure of international borders and an atypical coordination of state and federal governments via the National Cabinet.</p>
<p>Moreover, a severe threat like a pandemic can make people more information-hungry, anxious and fearful. COVID has become a powerful shared experience for people. It touched most households through people’s connections with health and social care workers and their communication with relatives, co-workers or friends who were in lockdown or unfortunate enough to get sick.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-the-facts-or-more-detail-to-battle-vaccine-hesitancy-the-messaging-has-to-be-just-right-155953">Just the facts, or more detail? To battle vaccine hesitancy, the messaging has to be just right</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Yet, research also suggests many people do not lose their capacity for reason or critical judgement in a crisis. For example, people can oppose wars or other heavy-handed responses to terrorist attacks even if such attacks make them more anxious or fearful. </p>
<p>Above all, the competence and outcomes of the government’s actions matter. If the government is perceived as not able or willing to adequately respond to a threat, then public support will fade.</p>
<h2>How government can get public trust back</h2>
<p>Fast-forward to today. The Australian public is disenchanted with the slow rollout of the vaccine program and mixed government messaging over the relative risks of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This has punctured public trust in government in a very short period of time. </p>
<p>At the same time, people are proving highly vulnerable to fake news and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/australiansvstheagenda/?hl=en">conspiracy theorists</a>, who are taking advantage of mixed messaging by government to try to sow more confusion.</p>
<p>The dangerous implication of all of this: it’s fuelling <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9060593">vaccine hesitancy</a>. One in six Australians now say <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/growing-number-of-australians-say-they-will-never">they will never get a COVID vaccine</a>, according to a recent poll. </p>
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<p>So, what needs to be done to reverse the decline in public trust of the government? The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has provided some <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/enhancing-public-trust-in-covid-19-vaccination-the-role-of-governments-eae0ec5a/">timely guidelines</a> that suggest the need for greater community engagement. </p>
<p>This can be achieved by the government taking these steps:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>proactively releasing timely information on vaccination strategies, forms of delivery and accomplishments in a user-friendly format </p></li>
<li><p>providing transparent and coherent public communication to address misinformation and what is known as the “<a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1">infodemic</a>”</p></li>
<li><p>engaging the public when developing vaccination strategies.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/morrisons-new-deal-for-a-return-to-post-covid-normal-is-not-the-deal-most-australians-want-163889">Morrison's 'new deal' for a return to post-COVID normal is not the deal most Australians want</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The public needs to have its say</h2>
<p>At the start of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Democracy2025-report3.pdf">co-designing</a> strategies with citizens was a low priority. But in the later stages of crisis management when behavioural change – in this case, vaccine take-up – becomes critical to containing the virus, you ignore the views of citizens at your peril.</p>
<p>Moreover, in the recovery stage – when it’s time to reflect on the government response, take accountability for missteps and draw lessons for the future – citizen engagement becomes even more important. </p>
<p>As inquiries are eventually launched to explore what went right and what went wrong with the coronavirus response, the public must be invited to the discussion. </p>
<p>And there are models for how to do this. Just look at the <a href="https://www.climateassembly.uk/about/citizens-assemblies/">citizen’s assemblies</a> that have been formed in <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/05/sustainable-recovery-french-citizens-assembly">France</a> and the <a href="https://www.climateassembly.uk/report/">UK</a> to push for greater action on climate change in the post-COVID global recovery.</p>
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<p>There’s no way of knowing if COVID-19 could have been managed more successfully if there had been more public participation and debate from the start, given the whirlwind of uncertainty and the need for rapid decisions to tackle a crisis. </p>
<p>But there is little doubt that at some point the public will have to have their say. Important nationwide discussions need to be had on how best to limit the creep of executive power, how to better facilitate public debate in a period of high anxiety, and how to get the best out of the experts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-no-this-isnt-based-on-the-medical-advice-163588">View from The Hill: No, this isn't based on the medical advice</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>How to combat misinformation?</h2>
<p>And what about the longer-term problem of combating <a href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR2300/RR2314/RAND_RR2314.pdf">truth decay</a> in society? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/how-finland-is-fighting-fake-news-in-the-classroom/">Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands</a> have an effective weapon to combat fake news: education. These countries all include digital literacy and critical thinking about misinformation in their national curriculums. </p>
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<p>Moreover, the Finnish fact-checking organisation <a href="https://www.faktabaari.fi/assets/FactBar_EDU_Fact-checking_for_educators_and_future_voters_13112018.pdf">Faktabaari</a> provides professional fact-checking methods for use in Finnish schools, focusing on misinformation, disinformation and malinformation (stories that are intended to cause harm). </p>
<p>This is where Australian public universities can play a critical role by providing independent, evidence-based, fact-checking services in their areas of expertise to the community. This is essential not only to combat truth decay, but to strengthen our responses to future crises.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Evans presently receives funding from the Emergency Relief National Coordination Group for research on enhancing the quality of service delivery. He also receives financial support from the Museum of Australian Democracy for research on how Australians perceive and imagine their democracy.</span></em></p>At this stage of the pandemic, when behavioural change is so key to vaccine take-up, the government ignores the views of the public at its peril.Mark Evans, Professor of Governance and Director of Democracy 2025 - strengthening democratic practice at Old Parliament House, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1633722021-07-01T15:14:33Z2021-07-01T15:14:33ZSouth African government’s handling of COVID-19: study shows declining trust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409298/original/file-20210701-5437-1fvhyh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some of the first South African COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteers at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, in 2020.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Siphiwe Sibeko (Pool)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The public has been overwhelmed by a surge in misleading and false information during the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organisation has decried this <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1">“infodemic”</a>, which can lead to mistrust in health authorities and undermine the public health response. People often do not know which information to trust, making them vulnerable to disinformation. </p>
<p>New <a href="http://disinfoafrica.org/2021/06/14/working-paper-trust-in-institutions-covid-19-related-information-seeking-and-vaccination-messaging-in-south-africa/">research</a> suggests that South Africans are more likely to trust scientific sources, such as doctors and the World Health Organisation, than their own government. Most disapprove of the government’s handling of the pandemic. </p>
<p>These are the findings of an online survey we conducted to find out where people were getting their information about COVID-19 from and which sources they trusted most. We also conducted a small experiment to test people’s views on vaccinations. Both were done online, which means that the views represent only those South Africans with access to the web. </p>
<p>Our <a href="http://disinfoafrica.org/2021/06/14/working-paper-trust-in-institutions-covid-19-related-information-seeking-and-vaccination-messaging-in-south-africa/">study</a>, conducted with support from the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) Africa Infodemic Response Alliance, showed that when it came to getting information about the pandemic, South Africans appeared to rely mostly on “traditional” media sources. On average, 74% said they got information about COVID-19 via media such as television, radio and newspapers. </p>
<p>The results also showed that approval of the South African government’s response to the pandemic had declined from a year ago, when we conducted <a href="http://disinfoafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/What-Motivates-The-Sharing-of-Misinformation-about-China-and-COVID-19.pdf">a similar study</a>. </p>
<p>The current survey showed a high level of disapproval: 61% of respondents said they “strongly” or “somewhat” disapproved of the way the government was handling the pandemic, while only 21.1% said they “strongly approved”. This has an impact on the effectiveness of messages promoting vaccination. If receivers of pro-vaccination messages disapprove of the sender of the message, they are less likely to trust the content of the message or share such messages with others. </p>
<p>The deteriorating level of trust in the government may be related to the stuttering vaccine rollout in the country, which was high on the news agenda at the time of the study. The rollout plan suffered several setbacks and the government was <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/concerns-grow-over-slow-pace-of-sas-vaccine-rollout-20210323">widely criticised</a> for not meeting its targets. The survey was also fielded at the time when the country’s health minister, Zweli Mkhize, was put on special leave while an investigation against allegations of corruption <a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/breaking-news/2525292/zweli-mkhize-special-leave-corruption-probe-8-june/">was under way</a>. </p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>Our study consisted of two parts. </p>
<p>First, we conducted an online survey in which we asked 1,585 South African social media users what media they consumed, which sources of information they trusted most, and their attitudes towards COVID-19. We also asked them how they would evaluate the government’s response to the pandemic.</p>
<p>The second part of the study involved an online experiment with 1,180 social media users. We sought to determine how effective social media messaging strategies were in promoting vaccination, and what role the sender of the message played in how users responded to it.</p>
<iframe title="Trust in COVID-19 information sources in South Africa" aria-label="Bar Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-4xAtL" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4xAtL/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="420"></iframe>
<p>The online survey showed that, overall, medical doctors and the World Health Organisation were the most trusted sources of information, followed by radio and television. News websites, family and the South African government were less trusted. But they were still more trusted than social media, friends, community leaders, celebrities and faith leaders. </p>
<p>Respondents who intended voting for the governing African National Congress (ANC) or opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) tended to trust the government’s communication more than supporters of other parties, such as the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).</p>
<p>Overall, most said they consulted established news media sources like television (85.6%), radio (79.2%) and newspapers (online 58.3%, print 73.4%) more than they did social media. The exception was Facebook, which had a high usage (85.1%), followed by WhatsApp (67.5%). </p>
<p>Google was also a popular platform to obtain information from (85.3%), but other social media platforms like TikTok (19.6%), Twitter (29.2%), Instagram (26.6%) and YouTube (45.6%) were much less popular sources of information. </p>
<iframe title="COVID-19 News consumption habits in South Africa" aria-label="Stacked Bars" id="datawrapper-chart-9D7oA" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/9D7oA/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="383"></iframe>
<p>In the Facebook experiment, participants saw one of four versions of a Facebook post that included a video encouraging citizens to get vaccinated. Each of the four versions was made to look like it had been posted from a different account. Two of these accounts were from political parties in South Africa (the ANC and DA), and two were institutional accounts (WHO and the National Department of Health).</p>
<p>All four posts included the same video, which was designed to look like a <a href="https://twitter.com/viralfacts">#ViralFact message</a> such as the ones distributed by the WHO’s Africa Infodemic Response Alliance. The video combined two common health communication messaging strategies, “humour” and “fear”.</p>
<p>We were interested in comparing how users would react to the same information coming from different messengers. Specifically, we looked at whether different messengers would result in people being more or less likely to get vaccinated. We also looked at whether users would be more or less likely to share the social media posts depending on where they came from. </p>
<p>We found that media users’ intentions to get vaccinated weren’t particularly swayed by which political party did the posting. In all cases, after seeing the Facebook ad, their intention to get the COVID-19 shot remained very high, confirming <a href="https://protect-za.mimecast.com/s/OapFCzm4GXCXP0NRSJ1Vej">findings by other researchers</a>.</p>
<p>But when it came to sharing social media posts, users were less likely to say they would share the Facebook post when they thought it came from an ANC account. Users who were told the post came from the WHO, the National Department of Health or the DA were significantly more likely to share the post.</p>
<p>The study supports <a href="https://cramsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3.-Burger-R_Policy-Brief.pdf">others</a> showing a relatively high rate of vaccine acceptance among South Africans. It also suggests that the content of pro-vaccination messages is important for promoting vaccine acceptance. So is the sender.</p>
<h2>Implications</h2>
<p>The strong disapproval of the government’s handling of the pandemic, as well as the overall low levels of trust in the ANC, should be a warning to government communicators that crafting persuasive pro-vaccine messages is not enough. The trust deficit in the messenger also has a negative impact on people’s trust in the message itself, and people’s likelihood to share those messages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163372/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>
This work is based on the research supported by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dani Madrid-Morales does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The strong disapproval of the South African government’s handling of the pandemic is a warning that crafting persuasive pro-vaccine messages is not enough.Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies in the Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape TownDani Madrid-Morales, Assistant Professor in Journalism at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, University of HoustonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1557562021-03-03T09:22:06Z2021-03-03T09:22:06ZWhat South Africans should know, but don’t, about government’s COVID-19 vaccine procurement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387167/original/file-20210302-21-1ipgqer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's much that President Cyril Ramaphosa's government has yet to explain to South Africans about the COVID-19 vaccine procurement.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/covid-19">COVID-19 pandemic</a> has again highlighted the challenges facing public procurement in South Africa. The <a href="https://www.agsa.co.za/Reporting/SpecialAuditReports.aspx">Auditor-General’s reports</a> on COVID-19 related procurement and <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/in-south-africa-covid-19-has-exposed-greed-and-spurred-long-needed-action-against-corruption">media coverage</a> have all have flagged opacity, corruption and mismanagement on a wide scale.</p>
<p>In this context, one is understandably apprehensive about the next major procurement episode in the country’s response to COVID-19. That is the procurement of vaccines and the services required to vaccinate the population.</p>
<p>There is much that the public has learned about this vaccine procurement process. This includes the centralised approach adopted by the national Department of Health and which is the current supplier. One acknowledges that government has <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2021/01/09/ramaphosa-vows-there-ll-be-no-corruption-in-procurement-distribution-vaccines">learnt some lessons </a> from the procurement failures of its early response to the pandemic. </p>
<p>But there is much that is not known and much should be known. Some of this vagueness may simply be because the relevant aspects have not yet been finalised. But in relation to other aspects, the information should be available.</p>
<h2>Role of provinces in vaccine procurement</h2>
<p>Uncertainty remains around the exact role of South Africa’s nine provinces, each with its own legislature and executive council, and, to a limited extent, the private sector. </p>
<p>In his briefing to the parliamentary portfolio committee on health on 5 February 2021, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize stated that government was procuring the vaccines centrally and “then supplying both the private and the public sector for distribution”. One can understand the move to centralise such procurement, especially after <a href="https://www.agsa.co.za/Reporting/SpecialAuditReports.aspx">the challenges of the highly decentralised</a> early procurement stage such as the failure of many organs of state to follow prescribed pricing and specifications instructions. </p>
<p>But Western Cape premier Alan Winde <a href="https://coronavirus.westerncape.gov.za/news/progress-rollout-covid-19-vaccination-western-cape">stated</a> that the Western Cape had established a “framework for provincial contingency vaccine acquisition (and procurement), to supplement the national acquisition plan”. It is unclear whether other provinces, or other organs of the state, are also embarking on additional vaccine procurement programmes.</p>
<p>Provinces – and a host of other organs of state – have the power to procure vaccines on their own. <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/legislation/pfma/regulations/gazette_27388%20showing%20amendments.pdf">The law</a> does not provide for mandatory participation in centralised procurement. If an organ of state can show that procuring vaccines falls within its legal mandate, it should be able to do so on its own. That is largely due to the highly decentralised public finance framework under the <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.za/legislation/PFMA/default.aspx">Public Finance Management Act</a> and <a href="http://mfma.treasury.gov.za/Pages/Default.aspx">Municipal Finance Management Act</a>, which includes procurement. In terms of this framework, organs of state are individually mandated and thus responsible for their own spending.</p>
<h2>A closed book</h2>
<p>Another major area of uncertainty relates to the terms of the supply contracts in terms of which government will acquire the vaccines. While government leaders keep using phrases such as vaccines have been “secured” and manufacturers have “committed” doses, it is unclear whether any contracts have actually been signed, apart from the agreement to obtain the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX initiative. </p>
<p>At the very least, an agreement for 9 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines seems to be either already signed or on the brink of being signed. But the specific terms of such an agreement remain unclear. </p>
<p>Of particular concern is the indication that such agreements may contain a no-fault compensation system for adverse events, as well as non-disclosure clauses. The latter would make it impossible to scrutinise the actual terms of the agreements, including the exact nature and hence implications of the former type of arrangements. </p>
<p>There are also concerning signs regarding the costs. The national Department of Health indicated to Parliament that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would cost US$10 (R147) per dose. However, Mkhize was much more circumspect in his public briefing on February 10, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMZzRKnx_lI">indicating</a> that the exact price would be negotiated as supply was agreed upon. </p>
<p>He noted specifically that urgent availability was a factor, adding that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re prepared to do anything to deal with it so we will get the final proposal in the next day or two and then we will be able to explain how much can be obtained without payment…and how much we’re paying for the rest of the other vaccines.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>All these uncertainties raise questions about whether the agreements will meet the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-chapter-13-finance#217">constitutional requirement</a> that public contracts must be concluded in terms of “a system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective”. </p>
<p>If, for example, these vaccine supply contracts contain non-disclosure terms, transparency will be seriously reduced and with it any attempt at establishing whether the contracts were competitive and fair.</p>
<p>Globally, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/world/europe/vaccine-secret-contracts-prices.html">serious questions have been asked</a> about the fairness of some of the vaccine supply contracts. This is in light of significant public funding for the development and approval of the relevant vaccine, which is subsequently bought at great cost, again from public funds. Some have also questioned <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-african-covid-19-vaccine-trials-hold-key-lessons-for-future-partnerships-154676">the differential pricing</a> for South Africa versus the European Union.</p>
<p>At a more specific level, there are questions about government’s approach to the procurement of the vaccine roll out services. It is unclear, for example, why a deviation from competitive bidding to direct contracting and closed bids was required for the initial logistics services. This is both for a single source contract with <a href="https://www.biovac.co.za/">Biovac</a> and a subsequent closed bid to four suppliers for six months of storage and distribution. </p>
<p>It seems difficult to follow how these procurements could be described as urgent as they would have been planned since September 2020, during formulation of the <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax">COVAX</a> agreement. Subsequently, the the Department of Health launched an open bidding procedure on 5 February, closing on 22 February, to procure the very same services from 1 April. </p>
<p>One wonders whether this deviation meets the first of the three requirements for deviation from competitive bidding as <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2019/131.pdf">formulated by the Supreme Court of Appeal</a>. The appeal court stated that “there must be a valid and rational reason for the decision to deviate from the usual tender procedures”.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it is unclear how the four suppliers were selected for the closed bid. Also, Treasury <a href="https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/treasury-opens-up-on-covid-19-vaccine-procurement-oversight/">indicated</a> that part of the approval of the deviation for the closed bid was that the Department of Health:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>must ensure that the closed bid process does not in any way prejudice any other supplier who has the required storage and distribution capabilities. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It isn’t clear how the Department of Health will adhere to this requirement given that the very nature of a closed bid is that no other suppliers participate other than those pre-selected to bid.</p>
<h2>Public trust is vital</h2>
<p>Public trust is undoubtedly a major factor in the success of any mass COVID-19 vaccination programme. The efficacy of such a programme hinges on vaccinating enough of the population to achieve herd immunity. In turn, herd immunity depends on enough people adequately trusting the programme to seek vaccination.</p>
<p>This is apart from the constitutional values of good public governance, which require high levels of transparency. Such transparency in government’s vaccination programme is also essential for the very success of the programme, since without transparency there cannot be public trust.</p>
<p>One hopes that the relevant information will be made public as soon as possible as an important step to ensure public trust in this essential programme.</p>
<p><em>This article is extracted from a longer, <a href="https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/COVID19-Vaccine-Procurement-Quinot-for-CW-210216.pdf">more in-depth analysis</a> of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement process by the author.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Geo Quinot received funding from Corruption Watch in respect of this research. </span></em></p>South Africa’s constitutional values of good public governance and transparency in public procurement have been sacrificed in the process of buying COVID-19 vaccines.Professor Geo Quinot, Professor in the Department of Public Law, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1552572021-02-22T13:17:14Z2021-02-22T13:17:14ZPublic trust in the media is at a new low: a radical rethink of journalism is needed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384988/original/file-20210218-14-fsnk9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C5307%2C3234&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent <a href="https://sanef.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SANEF-ethics-report-OK.pdf">report</a> by an independent panel on the ethics and credibility of South Africa’s news media makes for worrying reading. The panel, headed by retired judge <a href="https://www.ru.ac.za/communicationsandadvancement/alumnirelations/theorunion/distinguishedalumniawards/2019recipients/kathysatchwell.html">Kathy Satchwell</a>, was commissioned by the South African National Editors’ Forum following a <a href="https://theconversation.com/journalism-makes-blunders-but-still-feeds-democracy-an-insiders-view-146364">series of ethical lapses</a> by the <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/">Sunday Times</a>. The paper dominated the country’s media landscape for <a href="https://www.newsbank.com/libraries/colleges-universities/solutions/resources-location/sunday-times-archive-1906-today">over 100 years</a>. As the largest by circulation it was also considered the most powerful newspaper.</p>
<p>The lapses included factual inaccuracies in reports on allegations of <a href="https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/sunday-times-taco-kuiper-runnerup-award-revoked--a">police killings</a> as well as reports on <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30597414">alleged illegal deportations of Zimbabweans</a>. Another major story was about an alleged <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2014-12-06-sars-suspends-rogue-unit-men-after-expos/">‘rogue unit’</a> within the South African Revenue Service. </p>
<p>The panel <a href="https://sanef.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SANEF-ethics-report-OK.pdf">found</a> that the newspaper had ‘failed in the most basic tenets of journalistic practice’.</p>
<p>These failures included not giving any – or adequate –opportunity to affected parties to respond to the stories pre-publication. Others included failing to seek credible and sourced validation of the allegations made against individuals.</p>
<p>The panel concluded that the failures had caused great emotional and financial harm to the people concerned, their families and their careers.</p>
<p>The newspaper has since <a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/news/2018-10-13-we-got-it-wrong-and-for-that-we-apologise/">apologised</a> for the reports, and retracted them. </p>
<p>Having ethical lapses on such a major scale can only further erode the public’s trust in the media. More recently, investigative journalist Jacques Pauw’s admission that allegations he had previously made in a <em>Daily Maverick</em> <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2021-02-17-editors-note-on-retracted-jacques-pauw-column-about-his-arrest-at-the-va-waterfront-and-an-apology-to-our-readers/">column</a> were based on distorted facts led to a widespread outcry. It was <a href="https://mediamonitoringafrica.org/2021/02/17/media-release-jacques-pauw-didnt-merely-ruin-his-reputation-he-dealt-another-blow-to-media-credibility/">pointed out</a> that Pauw not only undermined his own credibility, but also further eroded trust in journalism. </p>
<p>It is clear that South African journalism has much work to do to rebuild this lost trust. Not only for their own sake, but in view of the growing crisis of disinformation. The panel’s report refers to the <a href="https://disinformationindex.org/">Global Disinformation Index</a> which suggests that 41% of South Africans distrust the media. And a worrying 70% have problems distinguishing news from “fake” news. </p>
<p>So, how should this rebuilding of trust be done? Clearly not by merely superficially papering over ethical cracks, nor overhauling the well-functioning <a href="https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/com/article/view/3726">media regulatory system</a>. While apologies for and corrections of mistakes are important to show public accountability, journalists should also recommit to the principles underlying these processes. </p>
<p>The country’s <a href="https://www.presscouncil.org.za/ContentPage?code=PRESSCODE">press code</a> highlights the public interest as the central guideline. This entails, aside from striving for truth, avoiding harm and acting independently, the reflection of a multiplicity of voices in the coverage of events, showing a special concern for children and other vulnerable groups, and being sensitive to the cultural customs of readers and the subjects of reportage.</p>
<p>This emphasis on diversity of voices and awareness of social context should be the starting point for any attempt to regain the public’s trust. As the code states at the outset: </p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.presscouncil.org.za/ContentPage?code=PRESSCODE">The media exist to serve society</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One way of doing this is to adopt an <a href="https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/how-a-culture-of-listening-strengthens-reporting-and-relationships/">“ethics of listening”</a>. I explore this in my new book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-ethics-of-engagement-9780190917333?cc=us&lang=en&#">The Ethics of Engagement</a>.</p>
<p>The central theme of my argument is that journalists must reach beyond their usual audiences to include those that normally appear only on the margins of media coverage. And they must review how those voices are reported, and how they appear in the media. </p>
<p>This approach will result in a more genuine dialogue and an approach that’s more participatory. This could, in turn, contribute to a thorough reassessment of the media’s relationship with the public in a way that could rebuild trust.</p>
<h2>Public journalism</h2>
<p>There are some examples of how this could be done. For instance Heather Robertson, former editor of <em>The Herald</em> newspaper in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, conducted a series of <a href="https://www.academia.edu/37070536/When_an_editor_listens_to_a_city">listening exercises</a> attended by community members, opinion leaders and journalists. Some interesting case studies can also be found in Australia, where community media journalists, media scholars and activists teamed up to design a <a href="https://tanjadreher.net/current-research/">“listening programme”</a>. </p>
<p>To some extent these projects are similar to the much older tradition of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02500167.2020.1862966">“public journalism”</a>. It provides that the media should address citizens not merely as spectators or victims, but empower them to solve their problems. One way this was done was to host public discussions and facilitate meetings to support deliberative democracy. More recently, the potential for<a href="https://digitalpublicsquare.org/"> digital media platforms</a> to connect journalists to audiences has also been explored. </p>
<p>Applying this approach in South Africa would have major benefits. The country is socially polarised and highly unequal. Making the extra effort to actively listen to voices outside the journalists’ normal target audiences, especially marginal voices, would transform the narratives being shared. </p>
<p>This would help journalists gain wider social legitimacy among those who may feel the media is disconnected from their everyday lives. </p>
<p>But ethical listening doesn’t merely accommodate voices from marginalised communities, only to treat them as victims or as objects of pity.</p>
<p>Instead, it requires a fundamental revision of the relationship between journalists and their various audiences, one in which power relations are radically revised or overturned. A more reciprocal relationship with their divergent audiences would require journalists to let go of their desire to control the narrative, or tendency to listen only to obtain answers to questions already formulated. </p>
<p>Of course this does not mean that journalists no longer have any say over their reporting. Nor that they don’t have to take any ethical responsibility for the questions they ask. The difference in this kind of listening is that it creates a true dialogue, in the sense that the responses are allowed to alter, shift and speak back to the original agenda rather than made to fit into it.</p>
<p>Listening can, therefore, be seen as fundamental to democratic politics because it constitutes a public sphere premised on participation, tolerance and inclusion. </p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>The panel’s report identified much larger, systemic problems in the wider South African media landscape. These include revenue challenges to media outlets, shrinking resources for training and for the effective exercise of editorial checks and balances. It also listed the pressure, fuelled by social media, to break stories ever faster amid competing misinformation and disinformation narratives as well as societal pressures.</p>
<p>Linked to the rebuilding of trust should be a strong commitment to support community media and the public broadcaster to add to the diversity of voices.</p>
<p>There can be little doubt that ethical lapses have added significant dents to the public’s trust in the media. </p>
<p>An appropriate response to the ethical problems plaguing the South African media requires thinking about the question of ethics as a more radical project – one which requires a reaffirmation of journalism’s central values, a recommitment to media diversity, and exploration of new practices that can reconnect journalists to citizens. </p>
<p>These are the tasks that journalists need to take seriously if they are to restore relationships of trust with the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Herman Wasserman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To rebuild lost trust in the media will require more commitment and effort than just papering over ethical cracks.Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies in the Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1493512020-11-12T13:27:19Z2020-11-12T13:27:19ZWhen scientific journals take sides during an election, the public’s trust in science takes a hit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368891/original/file-20201111-13-hvhyb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=447%2C60%2C5157%2C3745&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People lose faith in science when it takes a political side.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2020WisconsinVoting/f700f11017154b8198897294aaa18cba/photo?boardId=d7f2514f50804466b15dfb81ed00d9cd&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=15&currentItemNo=6">AP Photo/Wong Maye-E</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>When the scientific establishment gets involved in partisan politics, it decreases people’s trust in science, especially among conservatives, according to our recent research.</p>
<p>In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, several prestigious scientific journals took the highly unusual step of either endorsing Joe Biden or criticizing Donald Trump in their pages.</p>
<p>In September, the editor-in-chief of the journal Science wrote a scathing article titled “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe7391">Trump lied about science</a>,” which was followed by other strong critiques from both the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2029812">New England Journal of Medicine</a> and the cancer research journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30548-9">Lancet Oncology</a>.</p>
<p>Several other top publications – including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02852-x">Nature</a> and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-endorses-joe-biden1/">Scientific American</a> – soon followed, with overt endorsements of Biden. The statements focused on each candidate’s impact on scientific knowledge and science-based decision-making.</p>
<p>To evaluate whether political endorsements like these might influence people’s attitudes toward science, we ran an <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NuknCbGqhuJyeGYLGuqBCqa9hC0MR13Z/view?usp=sharing">online survey experiment</a>.</p>
<p>We asked one group of respondents to read a news article about a scientific journal or magazine. We asked a second group of people to read an article that contained the same description of the publication but with additional details about the political position it took and quotes from its actual statements regarding Biden and Trump. Then we asked respondents about their trust in scientists, scientific journals and science as an institution.</p>
<p><iframe id="qH79F" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/qH79F/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>We found that trust in science declined among respondents who learned about a publication’s partisan statement. The magnitude of the observed effects is small but statistically significant, holds across a range of controls and is persistent across different ways of measuring trust in science. The finding was most pronounced for conservatives, likely because the endorsements were all supportive of Biden and against Trump.</p>
<p>Furthermore, we also found an interesting indirect effect. As trust in science decreased, so did the reported likelihood of complying with scientific recommendations about health behaviors related to COVID-19 – for example, wearing face masks.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>There’s a lot of new research in the area of trust in science, including large polls of the public. Some findings suggest that there is still confidence in scientific expertise – but this <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/08/02/trust-and-mistrust-in-americans-views-of-scientific-experts/">declines as soon as science mixes with policy recommendations in people’s minds</a>.</p>
<p>Public policy issues have become highly polarized, reflecting larger political trends. While scientific research itself has not driven such polarization, some areas of scientific research, such as climate change, have become very politicized.</p>
<p>Further, while <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/27/public-confidence-in-scientists-has-remained-stable-for-decades/">public trust in scientists and science has remained largely stable</a> over the years, the American public is <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/08/02/trust-and-mistrust-in-americans-views-of-scientific-experts/">divided along party lines</a> in terms of trust in, and perceived impartiality of, science. Even more concerning, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/516412-polls-show-trust-in-scientific-political-institutions-eroding">trust in science and medicine has been on the decline</a> since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest there may be costs when scientific institutions take partisan stances on electoral politics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="people with signs at a March for Science in DC" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368758/original/file-20201111-13-13p0pse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Science supporters – like these at a 2017 March for Science – risk looking like just another advocacy group.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ScienceMarch/547723549891476ba4b3595c94e3bc10/photo?boardId=d7f2514f50804466b15dfb81ed00d9cd&st=boards&mediaType=audio,photo,video,graphic&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=15&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How we did our work</h2>
<p>Because a single survey – even with a sample as large as our initial group of 2,975 demographically diverse Americans – could be a fluke, we ran a second survey. We configured a new sample of 1,000 people to be representative of the U.S. population, allowing us to generalize our findings better. The results lined up with those from the first study, indicating that our findings were not a fluke but robust. We will submit our full analysis to a peer-reviewed journal soon.</p>
<p>Because of the experimental design of our study, the effects we have identified can’t be due to people’s initial views coming into the survey. That’s because participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, no matter what their prior beliefs on science or partisan positions. </p>
<p>As with any experimental study, we don’t know whether these effects will last or not. The highly partisan environment of the 2020 election may make some of our results specific to this time and place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149351/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin L. Young donated to a PAC during the current election, focusing on voter mobilization.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bernhard Leidner receives funding from the National Science Foundation for his current work on COVID-19 and, among other things, trust in science.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stylianos Syropoulos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When the scientific establishment gets involved in partisan politics, surveys suggest, there are unintended consequences – especially for conservatives.Kevin L. Young, Associate Professor of Economics, UMass AmherstBernhard Leidner, Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass AmherstStylianos Syropoulos, PhD Student in Psychological and Brain Sciences, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1460112020-09-27T11:48:02Z2020-09-27T11:48:02ZWE Charity demise shows why trust, transparency are so critical for NGOs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360024/original/file-20200925-20-e5wcsq.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=168%2C0%2C5741%2C3562&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">WE Charity's Marc Kielburger, left, and Craig Kielburger, right, appear as witnesses via videoconference at a House of Commons finance committee hearing in Ottawa in July 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/we-charity-student-grant-justin-trudeau-testimony-1.5666676">scandal around the federal government’s questionable allocation</a> of a student grant program to WE Charity has led to the demise of the organization’s operations in Canada. </p>
<p>That’s prompted a renewed <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2020/07/28/we-charity-scandal-risks-tainting-entire-sector.html">debate about the trustworthiness and accountability of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)</a>.</p>
<p>When a crisis of NGO trustworthiness emerges, the public usually demands <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-the-public-trust-ngos-again-93625">more oversight</a> and formal accountability from the organizations. But does this actually lead to increased trust and transparency among donors, NGOs and the general public?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-the-public-trust-ngos-again-93625">How to help the public trust NGOs again</a>
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<p>I look at this question using previous research on trust and accountability inside the NGO sector.</p>
<h2>NGO trustworthiness</h2>
<p>Non-governmental organizations obtain their legitimacy largely from the trust that the general public bestows upon them. That means that <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-98395-0_3">NGO trustworthiness</a> — defined as the perceived ability, benevolence and integrity of these organizations — is a paramount element to guarantee the success of NGO welfare-delivery projects. </p>
<p>NGO trustworthiness becomes more relevant if we consider that most of these organizations fund their operations from taxpayer dollars, which is channelled through governmental agencies that act as donors. </p>
<p>Governmental donors establish accountability measures that rely on extensive administrative requirements and bureaucratic demands. But they often doing little to enhance project activities or to reach better co-operative relationships with NGOs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students laugh outside a school." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360120/original/file-20200926-14-umwr0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students in Haiti in front of a WE Charity school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WE Charity</span></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.e-ir.info/2018/08/10/building-trust-in-ngos/">Recent research</a> has shown that the current model of accountability in the NGO sector relies too much on a rational view of trust that conflates transparency and authenticity with bureaucratic accountability. </p>
<p>The WE Charity scandal demonstrates that despite the stringent accountability requirements that are dominant in the sector, relationships may fall apart due to the lack of real transparency that sustains the <a href="https://ipolitics.ca/2020/09/14/we-must-learn-from-the-we-charity-controversy/">public’s trust</a>. Current accountability models need to be reconsidered to recognize that trust is not only built on oversight mechanisms, but also on emotional components.</p>
<h2>Emotional elements of trust</h2>
<p>Trust is usually defined as the positive expectations regarding the actions of others. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sf/article/63/4/967/2232120">Sociological research</a> on trust highlights that this concept goes beyond the use of tangible evidence to predict the behaviour of others and involves emotions. </p>
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<img alt="Craig Kielburger reaches down to touch the upraised hands of audience members." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360028/original/file-20200925-14-10acii5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Craig Kielburger, founder WE Charity, gets high fives from the audience at WE Day celebrations in Kitchener, Ont., in February 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robin</span></span>
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<p>Trust is not a simple tool used to make rational predictions about the actions of a counterpart. Instead, trust has an emotional dimension involving shared values, principles, goals and beliefs. These shared values allow people take leaps of faith when forming a co-operative relationship. </p>
<p>Simply put, no matter how many administrative and oversight requirements we impose on an NGO, we need emotional elements, such as shared principles and goals, that connect us. Trust is a mix of informational and emotional elements that increase the perceived trustworthiness about the partner. Such perceived trustworthiness is sustained through communication and transparency. </p>
<h2>Communication, transparency as trust enablers</h2>
<p>The demise of WE Charity and the public scrutiny on the Liberal government started with the failure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to recuse himself from the discussions about the award of the student program, as well as the lack of disclosure of questionable financial ties between WE Charity and Trudeau’s family.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1304461153846857728"}"></div></p>
<p>Aside from any political retaliations from opposition parties, what appears certain is that both the government and the charity failed to properly communicate and be completely transparent with the public. </p>
<p>But transparency here should not be understood as a just an act of dutiful compliance with regulations and oversight demands, but rather as the natural outcome of nurturing relationships where the important element is the common goal that connects everyone involved.</p>
<p>The preliminary results of my research into how trust and accountability interact in relationships in the NGO sector suggests that trust is enabled and enhanced by communication and transparency. That transparency is not understood as the fulfilment of bureaucratic accountability measures and administrative requirements, but instead as voluntary acts of openness and disclosure about important events that may impact the relationship. </p>
<p>In the case of WE Charity, it’s precisely the lack of communication and transparency with the public that led to the ultimate downfall of the intended collaboration.</p>
<h2>Trust eroded</h2>
<p>On paper, WE Charity could have been the best partner to implement the student grant program. It may have met all the requirements in terms of capacity and operational infrastructure, and it may have had the best intentions to connect students with volunteering opportunities. </p>
<p>But the failure to be transparent eroded the public’s trust and led to its organizational demise. </p>
<p>This suggests that stringent oversight measures — which in the current model of NGO accountability usually translates into bureaucratic paperwork — do not necessarily lead to enhanced trust and transparency in the relationships among donors, NGOs and the public.</p>
<p>Accountability requirements for NGOs are necessary — they help stakeholders check on the activities undertaken by these organizations. But these requirements should really focus on transparency, not as an exercise of simple box-checking. This will ultimately lead to enhanced trust relationships with NGOs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nelson Duenas receives funding from Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) </span></em></p>On paper, WE Charity could have been the best partner to implement the federal government’s student grant program. But the failure to be transparent eroded the public’s trust and led to its demise.Nelson Duenas, PhD Candidate in Accounting, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1447172020-08-27T17:16:15Z2020-08-27T17:16:15ZAlberta’s COVID-19 back-to-school plans lack transparency<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354459/original/file-20200824-16-jo3djm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C13%2C2991%2C1553&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents and the public are in the dark about how Alberta developed its back-to-school plan. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s not yet clear how <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-schools-safe-covid19-1.5700424">the federal government’s Aug. 26 announcement of allotting $2 billion</a> to support safe school openings will change provinces’ existing plans. With many schools poised to start soon, some leaders across Canada have been struggling to convince a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7262854/coronavirus-canada-teachers-going-back-to-school/">skeptical public that reopening schools is safe</a>. </p>
<p>Alberta, with <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/alberta-has-most-active-covid-cases-per-capita-as-some-provinces-see-infections-spike-after-reopening-1.5028824">the highest per capita active case rate in the country</a>, is a case in point. </p>
<p>Premier Jason Kenney and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange are trying to convince Albertans that schools should reopen under near-normal conditions, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lagrange-says-ndp-s-alternative-school-re-entry-plan-attempts-to-discredit-hinshaw-1.5668262">insisting that the recommendations of Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, are being followed</a>. </p>
<p>While the province has put <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/k-to-12-school-re-entry-2020-21-school-year.aspx">enhanced hygiene measures in place, including masks for students Grade 4 and up where social distancing isn’t possible</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/explaining-alberta-school-funding-1.5696222">per student funding is actually down from pre-pandemic levels</a>. </p>
<p>No provincial <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/back-to-school-covid-alberta-faq-1.5683773">funding has been provided to reduce class size</a>. According the most recent estimates, in some schools, classes can be as large as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-class-size-data-2020-covid-19-back-to-school-1.5682575">more than 30 students</a>, <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/day-1-classes-sizes-are-way-over-provincial-guidelines">particularly in high school.</a> The <em>Calgary Herald</em> reported LaGrange said officials are “reviewing the program details” of <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/alberta-to-receive-about-260m-from-feds-for-school-re-entry">Canada’s recent announcement of $262 million to Alberta</a>. However the province allocates these funds, more disclosure about priorities and decisions is warranted.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/under-the-guise-of-coronavirus-response-alberta-justifies-education-cuts-135807">Under the guise of coronavirus response, Alberta justifies education cuts</a>
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<p>If the province is making data-driven decisions informed by expert advice, then the data and consultative process backing choices should be made transparent. If science, realism and high-quality problem-solving are at hand, people will probably trust decision-making more; research indicates that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/05/5-key-findings-about-public-trust-in-scientists-in-the-u-s/">the public has greater trust in data that can be openly accessed and is vetted by independent review</a>. </p>
<h2>Vague reference to ‘partners’</h2>
<p>Perhaps not surprisingly, <a href="https://leger360.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Legers-Weekly-Survey-August-17th-2020.pdf">72 per cent of Alberta parents are worried about children returning to school, and up to 48 per cent say they will keep their children at home rather than risk infection</a>, according to a web survey conducted by polling and marketing research firm Leger. The survey was conducted with a representative sample of 1,510 Canadians.</p>
<p>Right now, the public has been given little information on the science being used to shape provincial policy, other <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-edmonton-deena-hinshaw-covid-19-coronavirus-coronavirus-1.5693663">than summaries of general information</a>. The province has released limited information about international school <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-deena-hinshaw-covid-19-coronavirus-1.5690713">reopenings held up as successful (Sweden)</a> and no epidemiological modelling. Alberta officials have also failed to explain how and why some studies that might appear to call into question current recommendations are apparently discounted — such as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08/20/children-coronavirus-spread-transmission/">recent research indicating children may be more active COVID-19 spreaders than previously believed</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/charter-schools-what-you-need-to-know-about-their-anticipated-growth-in-alberta-141434">Charter schools: What you need to know about their anticipated growth in Alberta</a>
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<p>And although LaGrange has suggested she is in dialogue with “<a href="https://rdnewsnow.com/2020/08/21/lagrange-says-province-wont-delay-school-start-date-boards-can-set-their-own/">education partners</a>” and on Aug. 19 she <a href="https://twitter.com/AdrianaLaGrange/status/1296212833558867968">publicized a meeting with the Alberta Teachers Association</a> (ATA), no named advisory committee appears to be guiding the reopening, despite <a href="https://www.teachers.ab.ca/News%20Room/Issues/COVID-19/2020-School-Re-entry/Pages/Statement-on-Alberta-Education%e2%80%99s-School-Re-entry-Plan-%e2%80%93-August-4%2c-2020.aspx">calls for such a body by the ATA</a> at the beginning of August.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1297959605289459712"}"></div></p>
<h2>Disclose models, expertise</h2>
<p>LaGrange should disclose the epidemiological models used to anticipate consequences of both the current reopening plan and several alternatives, so they can be accurately compared. </p>
<p>The public has the right to hear how Alberta’s plan incorporates up-to-date data, verified by districts, about realities in schools. These include factors like class and room sizes; data on which mitigation measures such as <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/bigger-class-could-mean-up-to-five-times-the-covid-19-infections-canadian-study-suggests">smaller class size</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/analysis-ventilation-should-be-part-of-the-conversation-on-school-reopening-why-isnt-it">better ventilation</a> or <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/08/10/plan-to-reopen-schools-based-on-flawed-data.html">medical-grade PPE for teachers</a> could help stem viral spread and their costs. Where good data about the consequences of reopening don’t yet exist, there should be transparency, too.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-politics-behind-how-governments-control-coronavirus-data-139263">The politics behind how governments control coronavirus data</a>
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<p>We should also know what experts have been consulted, what concerns, ideas and recommendations they generated and how these were addressed and evaluated. </p>
<p>These times require out-of-the box thinking to consider solutions ranging from <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/08/11/for-back-to-school-in-the-covid-era-lets-get-school-outside.html">outdoor schooling</a> to <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/ndp-teachers-renew-call-for-smaller-class-sizes-as-province-records-three-more-covid-19-deaths">using surplus community space</a> and <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/03/27/a-broad-strategy-for-schools-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/">changing the number of hours of in-person instruction</a> — but if leaders don’t investigate innovative solutions, they’re unlikely to find them. </p>
<p>If no one but the chief medical officer was consulted, then it is high time this happens, even if it means <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-shifting-phased-in-school-restart-1.5682294">postponing the first day of school, as British Columbia is doing</a>.</p>
<h2>Transparency and trust</h2>
<p>Transparency about data and expert recommendations are vital to an informed public. Transparency allows discussion and critique, and allows concrete conversation about risks the public is being asked to accept. </p>
<p>What is the prospect that children, family members or teachers will be hospitalized or die? What are best- and worst-case scenarios in terms of resultant casualties and community spread? The public should know what risks or potential costs everyone is being asked to bear.</p>
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<img alt="A child sitting in front of a computer and working with a pencil and paper" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354466/original/file-20200824-18-hxktyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Premier Jason Kenney has released few details about back-to-school plans, while emphasizing parent choice. In this photo, Jillian Reid, 9, works at home in Cremona, Alta., in March 2020, after schools closed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
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<p>Transparency also allows parents to make informed choices and to develop a sense of confidence in how decisions are made not only now, but going forward.</p>
<p>Israel, for example, failed to reduce class size and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/world/middleeast/coronavirus-israel-schools-reopen.html">saw an outbreak at a high school</a> when schools reopened that infected hundreds. There were instructions for mask-wearing by students in Grade 4 and older, open windows, frequent hand washing and physically distancing students when possible. But with up to 38 children in classrooms, physical distancing was impossible, and under a heat wave, officials permitted windows closed for air conditioning and allowed a mask-wearing exemption. Are similar outcomes or decisions possible in Alberta?</p>
<p>So far, parents have been told only to expect <a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/alberta-plans-to-reopen-schools-in-fall-covid-19-cases-still-increasing">some cases in reopened schools</a>.</p>
<p>Transparency also matters as it allows people to evaluate whether plans address and fund ethical requirements pertaining to school staff: adequate provisions so reopenings work logistically, adequate protection that ensures reopenings are maximally safe and adequate compensation for staff who are assuming risks.</p>
<h2>Unanswered questions</h2>
<p>We need answers to questions such as: How much does teachers’ risk increase in classrooms where social distancing cannot be maintained? Given risks, is <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2020/04/coronavirus_schools_hazard_pay.html">hazard pay in order for school staff</a>? If it isn’t — hopefully because projected risks are low — then how about a provincial payout for those who may nonetheless suffer serious illness or death in conjunction with a COVID-19 school outbreak? </p>
<p>That seems only fair and could contribute to confidence in what to expect.</p>
<p>In the end, transparency allows us to hold leadership accountable. Politicians and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-response-failure-leadership.html">scientists can be wrong</a>. If the public knows what the province’s projections are and accepts them, then it can be prepared for predicted bumps without losing trust in leadership. If the models turn out to be inaccurate or ethically unacceptable, the public deserves a change in course.</p>
<p>If requests for transparency go unanswered, Albertans must assume either that the scientific expertise behind decisions to open schools is inadequate, or that the education minister is failing to base her decisions on scientific expertise. Neither option is acceptable with so many lives at stake.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maren Aukerman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vague references don’t cut it. The public deserves to know exactly how Alberta is relying on science, realism and high-quality problem-solving in its back to school plans during COVID-19.Maren Aukerman, Werklund Research Professor of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429042020-07-20T04:13:22Z2020-07-20T04:13:22ZAustralians highly confident of government’s handling of coronavirus and economic recovery: new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348288/original/file-20200720-29-11t3j6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>Australians have exhibited high levels of trust in federal government during the coronavirus pandemic, a marked shift from most people’s views of government before the crisis began, new research shows.</p>
<p>Australians are also putting their trust in government at far higher rates than people in three other countries badly affected by the virus – the US, Italy and the UK.</p>
<p>The findings, published today in a new report, “<a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Is%20Australia%20still%20the%20lucky%20country.pdf">Is Australia still the lucky country?</a>”, are part of a broader comparative research collaboration between the <a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/about.html">Democracy 2025 initiative</a> at the <a href="https://www.moadoph.gov.au/">Museum of Australian Democracy</a> and the <a href="https://trustgov.net/">TrustGov Project</a> at the University of Southampton in the UK. </p>
<p>The research involved surveys of adults aged between 18 and 75 in all four countries in June to gauge whether public attitudes toward democratic institutions and practices had changed during the pandemic. We also asked about people’s compliance with coronavirus restrictions and their resilience to meet the challenge of the post-pandemic recovery.</p>
<p>The main proposition behind our research is that public trust is critical in times like this. Without it, the changes to public behaviour necessary to contain the spread of infection are slower and more resource-intensive.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-spike-why-getting-people-to-follow-restrictions-is-harder-the-second-time-around-141287">Coronavirus spike: why getting people to follow restrictions is harder the second time around</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Levels of trust higher for most institutions</h2>
<p>Australians are now exhibiting much higher levels of political trust in federal government (from 25% in <a href="https://australianelectionstudy.org/wp-content/uploads/Trends-in-Australian-Political-Opinion-1987-2019.pdf">2019</a> to 54% in our survey), and the Australian public service (from 38% in <a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Democracy2025-report1.pdf">2018</a> to 54% in our survey). </p>
<p>Compared to the other three countries in our research, Australia’s trust in government also comes out on top. In the UK, only 41% of participants had high trust in government, while in Italy it was at 40% and the US just 34%.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Confidence in key institutions</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348292/original/file-20200720-15-1p40uyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage who say they have ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence. (Note: the survey collect data on the Australian parliament as it didn’t convene during the period of data collection.)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Democracy 2025/TrustGov survey; Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Australians also have high levels of confidence in institutions related to defence and law and order, such as the army (78%), police (75%) and the courts (55%). Levels of trust are also high in the health services (77%), cultural institutions (70%) and universities (61%). Notably, Australians exhibit high levels of trust in scientists and experts (77%). </p>
<p>These figures were comparable with the other countries in the survey, with the notable exception of Americans’ confidence in the health services, which stood at just 48%. </p>
<p>Although Australians continue to have low levels of trust in social media (from 20% in 2018 to 19% in our survey), confidence is gaining in other forms of news dissemination, such as TV (from 32% in 2018 to 39%), radio (from 38% in 2018 to 41%) and newspapers (from 29% in 2018 to 37%).</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Public trust in various media, scientists and experts</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348300/original/file-20200720-33-d0k46m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Public trust in various media, scientists and experts (by percentage).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Democracy 2025/TrustGov survey; Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>How does Morrison compare with Trump and other leaders?</h2>
<p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison is perceived to be performing strongly in his management of the crisis by a significant majority of Australians (69%). </p>
<p>Indeed, he possesses the strongest performance measures in comparison with Italy (52% had high confidence in Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte), the UK (37% for Prime Minister Boris Johnson) and the US (35% for President Donald Trump).</p>
<p>Morrison also scores highly when it comes to listening to experts, with 73% of Australians saying he does, compared to just 33% of Americans believing Trump does.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Public perceptions of leadership</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348293/original/file-20200720-31-1urkuhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of respondents in four countries who ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with statements about how their leader is handling COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Democracy 2025/TrustGov survey; Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Interestingly, Morrison’s approval numbers are also far higher than the state premiers in Australia. Only 37% of our respondents on average think their state premier or chief minister is “handling the coronavirus situation well”. Tasmanians (52%) and Western Australians (49%) had the highest confidence in their leaders’ handling of the crisis.</p>
<p>This suggests that in Australia, the politics of national unity (the “<a href="https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Is%20Australia%20still%20the%20lucky%20country.pdf">rally around the flag</a>” phenomenon) is strong in times of crisis, whereas people tend to view the leaders of states or territories as acting in their own self-interest. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Perceptions of the quality of state and territory leadership</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348297/original/file-20200720-64504-57ldkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perceptions of the quality of state and territory leadership during COVID-19.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Democracy 2025/TrustGov survey; Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<h2>Compliance and resilience</h2>
<p>Our findings also showed most Australians were complying with the key government measures to combat COVID-19, but were marginally less compliant than their counterparts in the UK. (Australians are relatively equal with Italians and Americans.) </p>
<p>Among the states and territories, Victorians have been the most compliant with anti-COVID-19 measures, while the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory were the least compliant. This is in line with the low levels of reported cases in these jurisdictions and by the lower public perception of the risk of infection.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-crisis-what-lessons-can-be-drawn-from-the-management-of-covid-19-for-the-recovery-process-142987">After the crisis: what lessons can be drawn from the management of COVID-19 for the recovery process?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When it comes to resilience to meet the challenges of the post-pandemic recovery, we considered confidence in social, economic and political factors. </p>
<p>Although a majority of Australians (60%) expect COVID-19 to have a “high” or “very high” level of financial threat for them and their families, they are less worried than their counterparts in Italy, the UK and US about the threat COVID-19 poses “to the country” (33%), “to them personally” (19%), or “to their job or business” (29%).</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Perceptions of the level of threat posed by COVID-19</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348294/original/file-20200720-17-1o63on3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of respondents who agree or strongly agree with the statements about the economic threat posed by coronavirus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Democracy 2025/TrustGov survey; Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>About half of all Australians believe the economy will get worse in the next year (this is slightly higher than in the US but much lower than in the UK and Italy). In Australia, women, young people, Labor voters and those on lower incomes with lower levels of qualifications are the most pessimistic on all confidence measures.</p>
<p>However, Australians remain highly confident the country will bounce back from COVID-19, with most believing Australia is “more resilient than most other countries” (72%). </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Perceptions of Australian resilience</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348298/original/file-20200720-23-6te3lf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Perceptions of Australian resilience compared to other countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Democracy 2025/TrustGov survey; Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>We also assessed whether views about how democracy works should change as a result of the pandemic. An overwhelming majority of people said they wanted politicians to be more honest and fair (87%), be more decisive but accountable for their actions (82%) and be more collaborative and less adversarial (82%). </p>
<h2>Staying lucky</h2>
<p>Australia has been lucky in terms of its relative geographical isolation from international air passenger traffic during the pandemic.</p>
<p>But Australia has also benefited from effective governance – facilitated by strong political bipartisanship from Labor – and by atypical coordination of state and federal governments via the National Cabinet. </p>
<p>The big question now is whether Morrison can sustain strong levels of public trust in the recovery period.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-matter-of-trust-coronavirus-shows-again-why-we-value-expertise-when-it-comes-to-our-health-134779">A matter of trust: coronavirus shows again why we value expertise when it comes to our health</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are two positive lessons to be drawn from the government’s management of COVID-19 in this regard. </p>
<p>First, the Australian people expects their governments to continue to listen to the experts, as reflected in the high regard that Australians have for evidence-based decision-making observed in the survey. </p>
<p>Second, the focus on collaboration and bipartisanship has played well with an Australian public fed up with adversarial politics. </p>
<p>The critical insight then is clear: Australia needs to embrace this new style of politics – one that is cleaner, collaborative and evidence-based – to drive post-COVID-19 recovery and remain a lucky country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142904/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Evans presently receives funding from the Commonwealth Department of Social Services for research on performance outcomes.
</span></em></p>Australians have more trust in their government and leader to deal with the pandemic than people in US, UK and Italy. Confidence in state and territory leaders, however, is far lower.Mark Evans, Professor of Governance and Director of Democracy 2025 - bridging the trust divide at Old Parliament House, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1418082020-07-02T12:57:06Z2020-07-02T12:57:06ZCoronavirus: BBC emerges as the UK’s clear favourite information source in new audience survey<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345082/original/file-20200701-159824-15nxuju.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C7%2C5220%2C3430&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Getting the right information during the pandemic has been a matter of life and death.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">FivosVas via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>News media have been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic,
as good quality information has literally become “<a href="https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-and-the-news-industry-everything-you-need-to-know/">a matter of life and death</a>”. </p>
<p>New Ofcom data confirms that we are <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/internet-and-on-demand-research/online-nation">increasingly reliant on the internet</a> and that it has become ever more important for accessing “news, information and civic processes”. But given this shift online, which news brands have been the go-to defaults during this period of government guidance, stark daily statistics and intensified scrutiny?</p>
<p>Between April 28 and May 5, we surveyed 1,268 people with a mix of demographics, including a wide range of age groups. This was part of a project by journalist <a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/shirish-kulkarni-9a56b751">Shirish Kulkarni</a> that is an element of <a href="https://clwstwr.org.uk/">Clwstwr</a>, a programme supporting innovation in news and screen in Wales supported by researchers from Cardiff and Swansea universities. The results of the survey have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal and should be taken as indicative.</p>
<p>Respondents were asked to name their three top news providers – and while COVID-19 was not mentioned specifically, the question was posed during a seven-day period when the number of UK COVID deaths <a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/">increased from 25,319 to 28,446</a>. Where our respondents were getting their news about the pandemic will, we imagine, have influenced their responses. </p>
<p>Inevitably there were some vague answers such as “newspapers”, “TV”, “the internet” and so on – and all such responses were assigned as “other”. In all, these accounted for just over 4% of the 3,520 individual choices.</p>
<p>Variations on a theme were coded generically – for example, the Mail Online was coded as the “Daily Mail”, while Good Morning Britain was coded as “ITV”. Gateways to news brands – such as Facebook, Twitter or social media – were omitted from this part of our analysis, since we were more interested in who the main news providers were, rather than the route that consumers had followed to get to them.</p>
<p>We conclude that legacy news brands have remained extremely resilient across the crisis, even despite ongoing debates about the quality of their scrutiny of the government’s pandemic policies. The headline finding is that the BBC is the UK’s overwhelming news provider of choice. </p>
<p>Indeed, more generally during the COVID-19 crisis, viewing figures for television news <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/">have been boosted</a>, not least since the daily news conferences became central to the UK public’s understanding of the how the pandemic developed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345062/original/file-20200701-37-qzas5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">BBC the clear favourite among survey participants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas et al</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the BBC accounted for almost one-third of all selections, the next highest – the Guardian – was chosen by around one in seven, meaning that the corporation was the top selection by a significant margin.</p>
<p>Aside from discussions addressing the editorial positioning of these top two, this seems a considerable validation for journalism where – in theory at least – quality and public service are prioritised over profit.</p>
<p>The more extreme editorial approaches of the Daily Mail and The Sun are less popular within our sample, indicating perhaps, that in times of crisis, all ages might be drawn towards more moderate, considered journalism.</p>
<p>The BBC of course, is consistently cited by Ofcom as the UK’s <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/157914/uk-news-consumption-2019-report.pdf">most consumed news source</a>. But where our findings diverge from Ofcom’s research is that far from showing that younger audiences might be <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/bbc-risking-lost-generation">losing touch with the BBC</a>, we suggest that the corporation remains resolutely popular with the under-24s. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345063/original/file-20200701-159811-1hqrc1y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No sign of younger viewers shunning the BBC.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas et al</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moreover, the report said, there was <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/bbc-risking-lost-generation">no evidence</a> that younger audiences were “increasingly using social media and services such as Apple News or Upday”. Indeed, the combined mentions of “social media”, “Twitter”, “Facebook”, “Instagram”, “Apple” and “Upday” account for only 5.5% of choices, around one-sixth of the number choosing the BBC. </p>
<p>The popularity of the BBC across all age groups is another reminder that the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, will need to tread carefully towards any <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/tv-licence-fee-bbc-boris-johnson-subscription-service-398815">licence fee reform</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bbc-licence-fee-culture-minister-hints-at-a-future-in-competition-with-netflix-for-uk-public-broadcaster-125469">BBC licence fee: culture minister hints at a future in competition with Netflix for UK public broadcaster</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Sky’s emergence as a clear second-choice broadcaster validates its transition – from the point of view of audiences at least – from previously dominant associations with “<a href="https://www.economist.com/blighty/2011/03/03/the-sky-and-the-limit">football, films and American dramas</a>”. </p>
<p>But while our findings spell good news for broadcasters, other news providers and parts of the audience have much less to celebrate. US news channel CNN (1.3% of choices) was just as popular as all UK local news media combined – a stark reminder that local news often struggles for oxygen within a crowded market.</p>
<p>Only two of the top 11 news brands (BBC and ITV) are obliged to provide news from across the whole of the UK. Healthcare is devolved and it seems reasonable to assume that people most need access to news specific to their own regions, lives and families.</p>
<p>While our findings reflect that even despite the steady migration towards digital, legacy brands remain strong, they also reflect a more generic approach from news audiences that result in a deficit of more pertinent, local information.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141808/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Thomas receives funding from the ESRC albeit not for this particular project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlen Komorowski is affiliated with Cardiff University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. At Cardiff University she is funded by AHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Lewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A survey of 1,268 people has found that the BBC is popular across all age groups. But all media needs to pay more attention to devolved and local news.Richard Thomas, Senior Lecturer, Media and Communication, Swansea UniversityJustin Lewis, Professor of Communication, Cardiff UniversityMarlen Komorowski, Impact Analyst at Clwstwr & Senior Research at imec-SMIT-VUB, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1400372020-06-15T18:15:40Z2020-06-15T18:15:40ZUruguay quietly beats coronavirus, distinguishing itself from its South American neighbors – yet again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341368/original/file-20200611-80774-1of4hge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Life is resuming in Uruguay, where some students returned to school in April and the remainder will go back in on June 29. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-picture-released-by-adhoc-news-agency-students-of-a-news-photo/1210676744?adppopup=true">Daniel Rodrigues/adhoc/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Latin America is the world’s new <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/869053446/latin-america-becomes-a-new-epicenter-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic">coronavirus epicenter</a>, but Uruguay – a small South American nation of 3.5 million people – has so far avoided the devastation raging across the rest of the region. </p>
<p>As of June 14, the country had <a href="https://covid19.who.int/?gclid=CjwKCAjw5vz2BRAtEiwAbcVIL5W0xoGMZZUidJH2jZ0cA2W6EoYlJX6gbjpzDUyiangaCi7HznDkwBoC8_cQAvD_BwE">847 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths</a>. By population that’s 244 cases and 7 deaths per 1 million inhabitants, well below neighboring Brazil, with 4,001 cases and 201 deaths per million; and Chile, with 9,118 cases and 174 deaths per million.</p>
<p>Uruguay <a href="https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-52837193">moved swiftly</a> in March to enact social distancing, testing and community tracing, though President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou never decreed a lockdown. Offices and shops are open for business, and Uruguayan children will return to school by <a href="https://www.cnnchile.com/mundo/uruguay-retorno-vuelta-a-clases-coronavirus_20200522/">June 29</a> even with winter and flu season coming to the Southern Hemisphere.</p>
<p>In avoiding the tragedy playing out nearby, Uruguay continues its tradition of bucking regional trends. My research on Latin American politics shows that the country has long stood out for its <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/how-party-activism-survives/93C5584DB63DF0A80B51F3EEB68BC8E9">vibrant participatory democracy</a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000312240607100604">low inequality</a> and <a href="https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=polisci-faculty-publications">expansive social policies</a> – all attributes that help explain Uruguay’s relative success in the pandemic. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341643/original/file-20200614-153822-15ytsji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The main plaza in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Montevideo_-_Centro_-_Plaza_Independencia_-_Palacio_Salvo_-_Uruguay_%2834893291250%29.jpg">Wikimedia/Flashpacker Travel Guide</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Uruguayans support democracy</h2>
<p>In a region marked by political discontent, Uruguayans generally like their political system. In 2016, <a href="http://infolapop.ccp.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/nivel-satisfaccion-democracia-latam.html">57%</a> of Uruguayans were satisfied with democracy, compared to 47% of Argentines, 34% of Brazilians and 40% percent of Chileans, according to Vanderbilt University’s Latin American Political Opinion Project.</p>
<p>Satisfaction with Uruguay’s democracy is matched by high trust in political institutions. In 2016, <a href="http://lapop.ccp.ucr.ac.cr/es">65%</a> of Uruguayans voiced support for institutions, Vanderbilt’s data shows. This is 7 points higher than Argentina and over 20 points higher than Brazil or Chile. </p>
<p><iframe id="zEbGs" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zEbGs/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Uruguayans have good reason to trust the system. The country’s <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo13590041.html">expansive welfare state</a> provides <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/welfare-and-party-politics-in-latin-america/BFE6B43ED35B5CB02919279F5620AB73">near-universal</a> access to pensions, child care, health care, education and income support for the poor. </p>
<p>Uruguay also has one of Latin America’s smallest gaps between rich and poor, rivaled only by Argentina. Uruguay’s latest Gini Index, a World Bank measure of income inequality, is <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?source=world-development-indicators">39.5</a> – better than the United States, though higher than much of Europe. </p>
<p>Most South American countries have a Gini index above 45, meaning wealth distribution is highly unequal.</p>
<p><iframe id="ZRWvY" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ZRWvY/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Progressive politics and Uruguay’s success</h2>
<p>Uruguay may be best known for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47785648">legalizing recreational marijuana use</a> in 2013. That first-in-the-world policy is the latest in a century-long progressive trend.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341579/original/file-20200612-153827-haenef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A march to legalize cannabis in Montevideo, May 5, 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-take-part-in-a-march-for-the-legalization-of-news-photo/143924841?adppopup=true">Miguel Rojo/AFP via GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Under the Paris-educated <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Model_Country.html?id=maZ7AAAAMAAJ">President José Batlle y Ordoñéz</a>, who led the country from 1903 to 1907 and 1911 to 1915, Uruguay got unemployment insurance, paid maternity leave and divorces at the wife’s request. In 1915, Uruguayan workers became the Latin American workers to be guaranteed an 8-hour work day.</p>
<p>By 1943 Uruguay had established a system for <a href="https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft567nb3f6;query=;brand=ucpress">collective wage negotiations</a>, allowing unions to bargain with employers and the government to set salaries, putting the country on a course to become solidly middle class.</p>
<p>Uruguay underwent another period of <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/welfare-and-party-politics-in-latin-america/BFE6B43ED35B5CB02919279F5620AB73">strong development</a> in the early 2000s under the left-leaning Frente Amplio party. </p>
<p>Among other reforms made during this 15-year period of progressive government, President Tabaré Vázquez in 2005 revived collective bargaining rights, which had been <a href="https://ladiaria.com.uy/articulo/2019/3/una-mirada-a-los-anos-90-eliminar-los-consejos-de-salarios/">gutted in the 1990s</a>. As a result, <a href="http://globaldialogue.isa-sociology.org/uruguays-miracle-redistribution-and-the-growth-of-unionism/">stagnant wages rose</a>, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---americas/---ro-lima/documents/publication/wcms_245894.pdf">more informal workers got labor contracts</a> and <a href="https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/21099/why-uruguay-leads-latin-america-in-labor-rights">labor conditions improved</a> – significant achievements in a region that struggles to provide steady, well-paid employment.</p>
<p>Between 2010 to 2015, Vazquez’s successor, José Mujica, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19986107">legalized abortion</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19986107">same-sex marriage</a> in addition to recreational cannabis. Uruguay is <a href="https://apnews.com/31de1cb8536a4aea9cc0b09b64f5dc5e">one of only six</a> Latin American countries that recognize marriage equality. </p>
<p>Though the Frente Amplio candidate narrowly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/world/americas/uruguay-election.html">lost Uruguay’s 2019 presidential election</a>, the party remains the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-latin-american-left-isnt-dead-yet-124385">dominant political force</a>, and Uruguayans overwhelmingly <a href="https://nuso.org/articulo/que-significa-el-giro-la-derecha-uruguayo/?fbclid=IwAR1Oxq9cOSzxgjqF4aKJeOK7-MZl8E56Gk3XWbhn5EGX_QSMQA59T0-b3WE">support</a> the left’s legacy of generous welfare programs. This makes it unlikely that the center-right President Lacalle Pou, who took office in March just before the pandemic, will radically change course.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341578/original/file-20200612-153808-lxbnzs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urguayans voted to fully legalize abortion in a 2013 referendum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/woman-casts-her-vote-to-request-a-referendum-to-validate-or-news-photo/171208022?adppopup=true">Miguel Rojo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Uruguayan exceptionalism</h2>
<p>Uruguay does have challenges. It has been slow to address <a href="http://ine.gub.uy/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=1726c03f-aecd-4c78-b9be-f2c27dafba1d&groupId=10181">racial inequality</a> and a rising school <a href="https://www.borgenmagazine.com/education-in-uruguay-drouts/">dropout rate</a>. Its <a href="https://repositorio.cepal.org/handle/11362/39862">aging population</a> has also strained the welfare state. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the country is weathering the COVID-19 pandemic remarkably well. While it has not eliminated the virus, <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-hits-zero-active-coronavirus-cases-here-are-5-measures-to-keep-it-that-way-139862">as similarly sized New Zealand has</a>, Uruguay is one of just a handful of countries to effectively manage the disease.</p>
<p>Its unique and defining characteristics likely helped. Political trust and support for democracy <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-leadership-in-various-countries-has-affected-covid-19-response-effectiveness-138692">encourage people to follow public health recommendations</a>, and a strong welfare state provides income support and reliable health care to help slow infection. </p>
<p>Having a strong, transparent democracy, in other words, has enabled Uruguay to <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/06/06/democracies-contain-epidemics-most-effectively">acknowledge, evaluate and control</a> a pandemic that has overwhelmed so many bigger and richer nations.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140037/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Pribble does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pandemic devastation surrounds it on all sides, but tiny Uruguay has COVID-19 under control – just the latest win for a country that’s always stood out.Jennifer Pribble, Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Studies, University of RichmondLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1356802020-04-17T05:28:58Z2020-04-17T05:28:58ZHow can we restore trust in media? Fewer biases and conflicts of interest, a new study shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/328251/original/file-20200416-140701-a5a506.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 global pandemic has seen news consumption rise in Australia. <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/staying-at-home-might-mean-watching-more-tv-but-the-future-of-free-to-air-remains-uncertain-623158">Audiences for TV news are up</a> and <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/public-turns-to-trusted-sources/news-story/946ea5a5eff0a92b3b1d492513f85a33">Australians are spending more time on news websites</a> seeking reliable information about the virus and the social and economic consequences of our policy responses. </p>
<p>This makes trust in the media more imperative than ever. </p>
<p>Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Canberra have undertaken a survey of 1,045 Australians to gauge levels of <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/best/projects/trust-and-mistrust-in-australian-news-media/">trust and mistrust in news</a> and what influences it. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-matter-of-trust-coronavirus-shows-again-why-we-value-expertise-when-it-comes-to-our-health-134779">A matter of trust: coronavirus shows again why we value expertise when it comes to our health</a>
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<h2>The most trusted voices in news</h2>
<p>We found people trust the news they personally consume more than the news in general, and that trust in news was higher than trust in business or government, although lower than trust in friends and educational institutions. </p>
<p>Our participants deemed television the most credible source of information that provides good analysis of current events. Online news sources (including online only and mainstream media) were not viewed to be as credible or professional as traditional offline media. </p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326077/original/file-20200407-36391-6kikrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Performance by media platform.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flew, T., Dulleck, U., Park, S., Fisher, C. & Isler, O. (2020). Trust and Mistrust in Australian News Media. Brisbane: Digital Media Research Centre.</span></span>
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<p>Some brands were more trusted than others. Trust in established news brands and public broadcasters was highest. Measured on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest, ABC TV (3.92) and radio (3.90) ranked highest, followed by SBS TV (3.87). </p>
<p>Among commercial media, the most trusted news brand was The Australian Financial Review (3.74), followed by The Age (3.69) and The Australian (3.69). More recently established brands had lower levels of trust, with Guardian Australia (3.45) being the most trusted.</p>
<h2>Declaring conflicts of interest is important</h2>
<p>To find out why people do or don’t trust the news, we asked them to rank a range of possible influences. </p>
<p>Factors that promoted mistrust in news included a past history of inaccurate stories, opinionated journalists or presenters, a lack of transparency, sensationalism and excessive advocacy on behalf of particular points of view. </p>
<p>Factors that promoted trust included depth of coverage, the reputation of the news brand, the reputation of particular journalists or presenters, and openness to comments and feedback from audiences. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326428/original/file-20200408-179227-1dvloqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ways to improve trust in news from the perspective of news trusters and mistrusters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flew, T., Dulleck, U., Park, S., Fisher, C. & Isler, O. (2020). Trust and Mistrust in Australian News Media. Brisbane: Digital Media Research Centre</span></span>
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<p>The single most significant measure that would restore trust in news brands was journalists declaring any conflicts of interest or biases with regards to particular stories. These measures were supported most by both trusters and mistrusters of news. </p>
<p>The negative impact of perceived bias and conflicts of interest appears consistently in studies about <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-review/bias-bullshit-and-lies-audience-perspectives-low-trust-media">trust in news</a>. News outlets need to take this seriously.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/accurate-objective-transparent-australians-identify-what-they-want-in-trustworthy-media-103676">Accurate. Objective. Transparent. Australians identify what they want in trustworthy media</a>
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<h2>Hiring more journalists and social media are not the answers</h2>
<p>Our research also reveals some interesting contradictions in how to improve trust in the media. </p>
<p>On the one hand, there was a clear desire for more in-depth reporting. However, most respondents simultaneously showed less support for media outlets employing more journalists. This suggests audiences want better-quality journalism, but not necessarily more of it.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/on-an-average-day-only-1-of-australian-news-stories-quoted-a-young-person-no-wonder-so-few-trust-the-media-122464">On an average day, only 1% of Australian news stories quoted a young person. No wonder so few trust the media</a>
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<p>In fact, employing more journalists and being more active on social media were deemed the least likely to increase public trust in media – two approaches that feature prominently in the business models of most news organisations. </p>
<p>As with institutional trust more generally, there is also a “<a href="https://www.edelman.com/20yearsoftrust/">trust divide</a>” between educated elites and the wider population when it comes to the news media. Older people also have higher trust in news than younger people. </p>
<h2>Trust in news is hard to restore</h2>
<p>Importantly, our findings show that people who don’t trust the news are less supportive of ways to improve it. In contrast, people who do trust the news are more enthusiastic about options to boost it further. </p>
<p>In particular, mistrusters do not see employing more journalists or reporters using more social media as a way to boost trust. Doing either of those things would only increase the circulation of news they already mistrust. </p>
<p>This suggests it is harder to improve trust of those who are already sceptical and mistrustful of news. This is an important message for news outlets to take on board. Once lost, trust in news is harder to restore.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Fisher has received funding from the Department of Communication and Arts, Google News Initiative and the Social Social Science Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sora Park receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Social Science Research Council and Google News Initiative.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Flew currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council for the Discovery-Project "The Platform Governance Project: Rethinking Internet Regulation as Media Policy" (DP1900222). </span></em></p>A new survey found the reputation of the news brand and journalists matters when it comes to public trust in media. Employing more journalists and being more active on social media doesn’t.Caroline Fisher, Assistant Professor in Journalism, University of CanberraSora Park, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Arts & Design, University of CanberraTerry Flew, Professor, Digital Media Research Centre and Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1310352020-02-06T01:32:43Z2020-02-06T01:32:43ZAfter the fires, a reason for optimism: our civic engagement has never been higher<p><em>This article is based on a longer essay published in the <a href="https://www.griffithreview.com/">Griffith Review</a>’s latest edition, Matters of Trust.</em></p>
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<p>Much has been written about Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s missteps and leadership failures in the bushfire crisis that has consumed Australia this summer.</p>
<p>His <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-14/former-fire-chief-calls-out-pm-over-refusal-of-meeting/11705330">refusal to meet with fire and emergency leaders</a> months before the fires to discuss ideas and strategies informed by their collective experience. The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/voters-turn-on-pm-over-pathetic-response-to-bushfire-crisis-20200202-p53wy9.html">flat-footed response to the crisis</a> itself and reluctance to link it to <a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-your-people-scott-morrison-the-bushfires-demand-a-climate-policy-reboot-129348">climate change</a>. His unwillingness to relent from hyper-partisan efforts to <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6603176/pm-setting-out-much-bigger-role-for-feds-in-managing-fire-risk/">deflect blame to the states</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scott-morrisons-biggest-failure-in-the-bushfire-crisis-an-inability-to-deliver-collective-action-129437">Scott Morrison's biggest failure in the bushfire crisis: an inability to deliver collective action</a>
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<p>Morrison’s government has since been further wracked by the “sports rorts” corruption scandal. The prime minister was roundly criticised for defending Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie in the face of <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/award-funding-under-the-community-sport-infrastructure-program">overwhelming evidence</a> she used the sports grants program as a political slush fund targeted to marginal seats before last year’s federal poll. </p>
<p>Morrison appeared unabashed and perhaps convinced he could tough it out as he had during earlier controversies involving ministers Michaelia Cash, Stuart Robert and Angus Taylor. His <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-we-need-to-see-gaetjens-report-on-mckenzie-not-least-for-gaetjens-sake-131144">refusal to release the Gaetjens report</a> into McKenzie’s actions raised questions about how the apparently competing interpretations of Australia’s most senior public servant and the independent auditor-general might be reconciled.</p>
<p>After a brutal summer, Morrison returned to parliament this week a diminished and damaged shadow of his “miracle” election-winning self. And some fear all this portends 2020 will be yet another “annus horribilis” in the sorry recent history of Australian politics. </p>
<h2>How crisis bring out the best in Australians</h2>
<p>However, there is reason for optimism. Like the green shoots emerging from the hundreds of thousands of singed hectares across our country, Australia’s institutions are strengthening. Individuals and communities are engaging in both politics and the public sphere in ways they haven’t in a very long time.</p>
<p>Volunteer firefighters have been at the forefront of the bushfires, defending the lives and properties of their neighbours and friends – sometimes tragically, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-26/parliament-to-pay-tribute-to-lives-lost-in-summer-bushfires/11902290">at the cost of their own lives</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313607/original/file-20200204-41541-1webzh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The vast majority of firefighters in Australia are unpaid volunteers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brendan Esposito/AAP</span></span>
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<p>Other front-line workers – ambos, nurses, doctors, police and many others – have showed again and again why public trust in these individuals remains high, in stark contrast to evidence of its <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-trust-in-politicians-and-democracy-hits-an-all-time-low-new-research-108161">precipitous decline in other institutions</a>. </p>
<p>Journalists are doing the job we need them to do as a key pillar of our democracy, keeping Australians informed and holding those in power to account. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lots-of-people-want-to-help-nature-after-the-bushfires-we-must-seize-the-moment-130874">Lots of people want to help nature after the bushfires – we must seize the moment</a>
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<p>Local political leaders – councillors and MPs, mayors and premiers – have showed courage and compassion as they have made difficult decisions and prioritised resources to support bushfire-affected communities. Businesses and civic organisations have also mobilised to respond to the crisis.</p>
<p>And an array of unconventional alliances has developed among health care professionals, tradespeople, chefs, artists, musicians, writers, craft groups, wildlife carers and others, who have volunteered their time, resources and expertise to <a href="https://authorsforfireys.wixsite.com/website">raise funds and lend much-needed support</a>.</p>
<p>Innovative groups have also emerged to respond to communities in need, such as <a href="http://findabed.com.au/about/">Find a Bed</a>, an online platform to help those who have been displaced from their homes (many more than once) find accommodation. Other programs have been launched to provide victims with food, clothing, transport and other necessities.</p>
<p>Countless people like these have embraced the role we all play in the continuing national project of ensuring the safety and well-being of all Australians – wherever they live.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313608/original/file-20200204-41516-nm92gr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A kangaroo being treated by WIRES, Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven Saphore/AAP</span></span>
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<h2>A strong, resilient democracy</h2>
<p>For some time, I have wondered whether institutional thinking could be revived in Australian politics. By this, I mean decision-making that emphasises long-term planning and the public interest, as well as a respect for the principles and conventions that constitute the “rules of the game”. This type of institutional thinking has been seriously eroded under recent governments. </p>
<p>The last decade has made me nervous. Many of the world’s most enduring liberal democracies are teetering on the brink. It wasn’t impossible to imagine the same happening in Australia. </p>
<p>This summer – brutal though it has been – has reminded me that I should have had more confidence. Whatever our differences, Australians’ essential empathy and yearning for connection always come out in times of crisis. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/might-the-bushfire-crisis-be-the-turning-point-on-climate-politics-australian-needs-129442">Might the bushfire crisis be the turning point on climate politics Australian needs?</a>
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<p>Our democracy has many challenges, notably in terms of the government’s relationship with Indigenous peoples, the need to restore an appropriate balance between Commonwealth, state and local governments, and the recovery of our capacity for innovation and reform. </p>
<p>But despite these challenges, our democracy is strong and resilient. We have a collective responsibility to be vigilant to make sure it stays that way.</p>
<p>Politically engaged, active citizens represent a clear and present threat to the careerists, chancers and zealots who have come to dominate the political parties, lobbying groups and tabloid media. </p>
<p>The public reaction to the government’s failures in the bushfire crisis and the widespread disgust over the “sports rorts” controversy is a reminder of this. We need to continue being active citizens by enrolling to vote, taking an interest in policies and important debates, getting involved and exercising our hard-won democratic rights, including the right to protest. </p>
<p>These are powerful forces against the cynical politicians, who <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/08/29/the-corrupting-of-democracy">as The Economist described it</a> last year, “denigrate institutions, then vandalise them”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131035/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Tiernan has received research funding from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Whatever our differences, Australians’ essential empathy and yearning for connection always come out in times of crisis. We have a responsibility to make sure it stays that way.Anne Tiernan, Professor of Politics. Dean (Engagement) Griffith Business School, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1237612019-09-19T20:56:17Z2019-09-19T20:56:17ZWe want to learn about climate change from weather presenters, not politicians<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293112/original/file-20190919-187967-r0we9j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Melbourne's ABC weather presenter Paul Higgins discussing a trend towards warmer April days.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABC/MCCCRH</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the great paradoxes of climate change communication in Australia is that politicians command the most attention on the issue, yet are among the least trusted sources of climate information.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mike_Schaefer/publication/257935465_What_drives_Media_attention_for_climate_change_Explaining_issue_attention_in_Australian_German_and_Indian_print_media_from_1996_to_2010/links/02e7e528e2b3f69cc9000000.pdf">Research has shown that</a> domestic politics has the strongest influence on Australian media coverage of climate change. In contrast, in India and Germany media attention is driven by factors such as international climate meetings and the activities of environmental advocacy groups.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-a-good-reason-were-moderating-climate-change-deniers-uninformed-comments-undermine-expertise-123857">There's a good reason we're moderating climate change deniers: uninformed comments undermine expertise</a>
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<p>In Australia, the four most trusted information sources on climate change are climate scientists, farmers, firefighters, and weather presenters, according to <a href="https://www.monash.edu/mcccrh/research/a-survey-of-australian-tv-audiences-views-on-climate-change">Monash University research</a>.</p>
<p>This suggests people want to hear more from scientists about climate change - if only they had greater visibility. Farmers and firefighters may have won the public’s trust because they work at the frontline of climate change, in figuring out how to grow our food with diminishing rainfall or put out fires in an ever-expanding fire season.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293117/original/file-20190919-187985-1mtr8o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Then-Treasurer Scott Morrison hands then-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce a lump of coal during Question Time in Parliament in 2017. Research shows that politicians are not a trusted source of information on climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
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<p>Of this exclusive group, only weather presenters have the distinction of being both trusted and skilled communicators, and having access to large audiences. As such, they can play a very important role in delivering factual, apolitical information to millions of Australians.</p>
<p>Our research at Monash shows that even Australians concerned about climate change have surprisingly low levels of climate literacy, relative to the immense scale of the problem. This is not to say that simply giving people more facts will improve their knowledge - <a href="https://oxfordre.com/climatescience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228620-e-301">the assumption that underpins the “deficit model” of science communication</a>. Facts, in themselves, will not necessarily influence people. But when they are delivered by trusted sources they can be very powerful.</p>
<h2>People still love the nightly news</h2>
<p>In the age of ubiquitous media coverage, it is remarkable that television remains the single <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7746-main-sources-news-trust-june-2018-201810120540">largest source of news</a> in Australia. People enjoy the ritual of news delivered at a dependable time that marks the end of the working day. </p>
<p>Veteran news anchors and weather presenters can fill the same place in a viewer’s day for decades, providing a sense of constancy. Weather presenters in particular deal with variations of the same serialised story, and many find that incorporating climate information improves the bulletin.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293109/original/file-20190919-187935-nsw0an.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Channel Seven’s Melbourne weather presenter Jane Bunn, presenting a graphic charting the city’s dry February days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Seven News/MCCCRH</span></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.monash.edu/mcccrh/projects/tv-weather-presenters-as-climate-communicators">Monash University’s Climate Change Communication Research Hub</a> has engaged weather presenters to present climate information in more than one-third of Australia’s media markets across three major networks. </p>
<p>Similarly in the US, the <a href="https://medialibrary.climatecentral.org/about-us/">Climate Matters</a> project, established in 2008, has engaged more than 500 weather presenters to present climate information, aided by research from the <a href="https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/">Center for Climate Change Communication</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-situation-brings-me-to-despair-two-reef-scientists-share-their-climate-grief-123520">'This situation brings me to despair': two reef scientists share their climate grief</a>
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<p>Just as these broadcasters present the day’s observed temperatures, they also present observed climate trends over a longer time scale.</p>
<p>The research hub offers graphics and information that weather presenters may use. Channel Seven weather presenter Jane Bunn and the ABC’s Paul Higgins, both of whom are broadcast in Melbourne, were the first to sign up to the Australian pilot program. See video below.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/no-denying-weather-presenter-bunn-is-subtly-selling-climate-change-20190225-p51007.html">In an article in The Age newspaper</a> in February this year, Bunn said she wanted to communicate only “the facts, quietly put through in a straightforward way that people can understand”.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Djyx0D1WIGs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A reel of Australian weather presenters improving their broadcasts with climate information.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This point touches on another finding of our research - that the public is most receptive to information that is “<a href="https://www.cmu.edu/epp/people/faculty/research/Fischhoff-Nonpersuasive%20Comm-EST.pdf">non-persuasive</a>” or does not attempt to advocate one way or another. </p>
<p>Bunn told The Age that viewers were “generally fascinated with weather trends anyway and this is just giving them more of what they want”.</p>
<h2>Weather presenters get it</h2>
<p>When <a href="https://www.monash.edu/mcccrh/research/the-2017-australian-weather-presenter-survey">surveyed</a>, 91% of Australia’s 75 weather presenters were interested in presenting local historical climate information.</p>
<p>Those participating in the Australian program generally present observed climate trends over 30-50 years: more than 30 years, because that is what the science says is needed for a strong climate signal, but less than 50 years because most people don’t care about the time scale beyond that.</p>
<p>The Monash project examines long-term climate trends in each month of the year, such as how many March days in Sydney have been hotter than 25°C, or the coldest September night Melbourne has experienced.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293120/original/file-20190919-187945-12dcfq1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Chris Mitchell removes flood-damaged items in Townsville, February 2019, after days of torrential rain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Peled/AAP</span></span>
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<p>Notably, the project presents only local trends in climate relating to cities, towns and regions in Australia. Our research <a href="https://www.monash.edu/mcccrh/research/a-survey-of-australian-tv-audiences-views-on-climate-change">consistently shows</a> that audiences connect with local information much more than national and global data, because the local information is seen to be far more relevant.</p>
<p>Audiences may also link the information to stories about local extreme weather events associated with climate change, such as floods and more violent storms.</p>
<h2>Audiences hungry for more in weather reports</h2>
<p>The appetite of Australians for information about climate trends is also very high. A <a href="https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/1702102/A-survey-of-Australian-audiences-views-on-climate-change-2018-FINAL.pdf">2017 survey</a> of Australian television audiences found that about 88% of respondents were interested in learning about the impacts of climate change in a weather bulletin. Almost 85% would continue watching their main news program if it started presenting climate information.</p>
<p>More importantly, 57% of respondents said they would switch from their regular news program that wasn’t presenting on climate change to a rival channel that did.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-explained-why-are-climate-change-skeptics-often-right-wing-conservatives-123549">Climate explained: Why are climate change skeptics often right-wing conservatives?</a>
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<p>The communication of climate information to audiences can help overcome a little-understood phenomenon known as “<a href="https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/climate-of-silence-pluralistic-ignorance-as-a-barrier-to-climate-">pluralistic ignorance</a>”, sometimes also referred to as “perception gap”. It refers to the fact that while <a href="https://www.tai.org.au/sites/default/files/Climate%20of%20the%20Nation%202019%20%5BWEB%5D_0.pdf">more than 75%</a> of Australians say they are concerned about climate change, just 50% believe others have the same level of concern.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293155/original/file-20190919-53499-1htqjyg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A farmer surveys a cracked riverbed on his drought-stricken property near Cunnamulla, Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Hunt/AAP</span></span>
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<p>This phenomenon is more common in nations such as Australia and the US where there is a strong denialist lobby, or <a href="https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/">merchants of doubt</a> - groups that may be small but can strongly influence a person’s confidence to discuss climate change in their everyday life.
The point is that if others are perceived to be unconcerned, it leads to strong self-silencing among the vast majority of Australians.</p>
<p>So if trusted sources such as weather presenters can show leadership in the public conversation by normalising climate information, this will help bridge the perception gap - and hopefully prompt more discussion of how to respond to the climate crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123761/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Holmes receives funding from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Hall receives funding from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science and the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation.</span></em></p>Politicians might get the most airtime when it comes to climate change, but Australians would rather hear about it from weather presenters.David Holmes, Director, Climate Change Communication Research Hub, Monash UniversityStephanie Hall, Communications Manager, Climate Change Communication Research Hub, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.