Declining trust and where it's headed

At the World Affairs Council last night we had a fascinating conversation about declining trust in the news and where media is headed. Curious what you think.

One conclusion I came to: social media companies have taken over the relationship between people and media, because that's where the profit is. When people decide what to read based on who shares it, this gives social networks power and ad dollars.

It also removes the relationship between publisher and reader, which erodes accountability and forces publishers to compete for attention with every article.

I'd like to see:

1. REAL relationships built between publishers and readers. This requires that the reader desires the relationship, which I think means they are not consumers but co-creators.
2. Publishers creating sites which incentivize people to come to their site directly, skipping social media.
3. Better tools that allow people to see counter-arguments to what they are currently reading, and incentivize/gamify having a broad media diet from multiple echo chambers.

What lies ahead

I don't think we can fix #fakenews. I think this era will look innocent in comparison to what is to come.

In the future you will be able to create 300 completely realistic sex tapes with the push of a button. Yes, facts will be available, compelling narratives designed to manipulate will be micro-targeted to our fears and overwhelm our ability to make sense of the world. We are headed for a post-truth era.

Relationships to trusted sources along with a varied media diet is one strategy. What are others?