Connection as an Antidote to Disinformation

Insights from CEO Bob Pearson’s National Press Foundation Keynote

As journalists face the public’s eroding trust and battle disinformation, personal relationships have assumed incredible importance. But bad actors and censorship—new forms of which go unnoticed until it’s too late—are beginning to stand in the way of authentic connections and truth. So, what can we do?

The Bliss Group’s CEO Bob Pearson tackled this question in a keynote to The National Press Foundation’s Data and Accountability Journalism Fellows on January 9, 2022. His insights can be distilled into five key takeaways:

1. People trust who they know.
2. Disinformation can look like information.
3. Censorship is more rampant and less blunt than we may assume.
4. Authenticity builds connections, which helps combat disinformation.
5. Reach the 9% who share and repackage content to spread accurate information.

A detailed summary of Bob’s five key takeaways, as well as a transcript of the presentation, are available on The National Press Foundation’s website.

By The Bliss Group

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