Countering Truth Decay

RAND defines “Truth Decay” as the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. Our initial Truth Decay report, published in 2018, showed how this phenomenon took hold in the United States over the last two decades—eroding civil discourse, causing political paralysis, and leading to general uncertainty around what's true and what isn't.

There have been previous eras in American history—during the Vietnam War, for example—that resemble the current Truth Decay moment. But one thing makes it different: growing disagreement about objective facts.

Flagship Report