This is a House of Commons Committee report, with recommendations to government. The Government has two months to respond.
This is the report summary, read the full report.
The pandemic has brought home just how vital it is to be able to access authoritative information. We highlighted in our 2020 report on misinformation how online hoaxes and conspiracies had been allowed to spread across social media. However, the problem is not confined to Covid-19. It impacts a range of issues, such as climate change, 5G, water fluoridation, elections and those claiming UK terror attacks have been staged. This makes it all the more important that there are prominent trustworthy actors - or “trusted voices” - who can provide evidenced accurate information and communicate it an accessible way. We wanted to see who those trusted voices are and whether, in particular, the National Academies should be more widely known by the public as one such trusted voice.
We found that, while there are many facets to what makes a voice trusted, common views did emerge, including integrity, authority and a lack of vested interests. We also heard that there is no one single voice: different communities or demographics may turn to different ones; and that, despite its many detractors, many people continue to place their trust in traditional media and that the media took its responsibility seriously.
Given the Government’s role as a trusted voice during the pandemic, we were concerned to hear about the shortcomings of its communications, with limitations with both the information transmitted and the methods by which it was done. We believe that the Government could do more to utilise the vast number of experts it employs, building on the critical role played by the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer during the pandemic to engage publicly in issues of national concern.
Finally, a major focus of our inquiry was examining the role of the National Academies as a trusted voice. We heard a consistent message that their public profile was low, but there was no consensus on the extent to which it should be more prominent. However, the extent of their public funding requires stringent accountability. This is an opportune moment for the Government and Academies to clarify the role that they should play in the public information landscape and ensure they have the resources to do so.