About This Paper iii
Summary v
Figure and Tables xi

CHAPTER 1 Truth, Trust, and Democracy 1
 Understanding the Information Ecosystem 3
 Shared Commitments and Information Integrity 4
 Methodology 7
 Assumptions, Scope, Limitations, and Terminology 7
 Organization of This Paper 8

CHAPTER 2 Rebalancing the Information Ecosystem 9
 Individual-Level Strategies for Improving the Information Ecosystem 10
 Community-Level Engagement and Resilience 13
 System-Level and Structural-Level Interventions 15
 Future Directions for Research and Evaluation 17
 Conclusion 18

CHAPTER 3 Renewing Shared Commitments on Information Use 21
 The Case for Prioritizing the Civic Covenant 21
 Strengthening Shared Commitments at the Community Level 22
 Understanding Civic Responsibility 23
 Situating Communities Within Larger Systems 25
 Laying the Groundwork for Collective Action 26
 Fostering Civic Processes and Shared Experiences 29
 Connecting Community-Level Work to the Information Ecosystem 30

CHAPTER 4 Moving Toward a Research Agenda 33
 Content Creators as Stewards of Truth and Community Values 33
 Strengthening Truth and Trust Through Community Participation 38
 Governments as Guardians: Navigating Freedom, Regulation, and Truth 40
 Toward a Pro-Ecosystem and Anti-Threat Agenda 44

CHAPTER 5 The Urgency of Now 47

APPENDIX Selected RAND Works on Truth Decay 49

References 59
About the Authors 73