News

Trust in traditional health authorities and information is declining, while capabilities to create and spread false or misleading content are growing stronger. This is set against a backdrop of increasing skepticism in institutions, artificial intelligence reach, and disasters both natural and human-made. Allowing these trends to continue will have health and social ramifications that are increasingly dramatic, deep, and deadly. Against these currents, many trustworthy individuals and organizations act in physical and virtual communities with good intentions—but insufficient coordination, capacity, and community engagement. This results in duplicative content and capacity-building on some topics, scant support on other topics, and continual, costly reinvention of the wheel. It creates an environment that is not only inefficient and potentially inequitable but also works against trust building as well as positive behavior and policy…