How journalists can act as an immune system for democracy

Last week, I wrote about how journalists should respond to the authoritarian playbook. On Monday, I shared an example, documenting when and how Trump ran authoritarian plays at a debate. Today, I want to share concrete ways that journalists can improve how they cover the accelerating threat that authoritarianism poses to democracies everywhere.

1) Learn the Authoritarian Playbook.

2) Treat political coverage like a breaking news event, every day. Verify everything — and everyone. Beware manipulated media & cheapfakes, or a single source on social media; Be skeptical of what’s “trending.

3) Show your work. Publish source documents, data, & code. Explain how you established facts or analyzed records. Transparency, fairness, accuracy, and honesty must be the North Star when publics perceive bias and distrust institutions & the press.

4) Adopt, adapt, & apply strategies for each authoritarian play.

For instance, Protect Democracy recommends responding to disinformation by:

-Avoiding the “illusory effect” by inadvertently spreading lies you intend to debunk

-Reporting #FactsFirst in headlines & tweets. Do not repeat lies, even if you wrap falsehoods in context.

-Covering disinformation as a story — an autocrat’s strategy — not just a statement.