Truth and Misinformation: How to Spot False Narratives (Part 4)
By Linda Fisher Thornton
To wrap up a recent series of posts about truth, misinformation and how to spot false narratives, here is a summary of key points and questions for discussion.
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Truth and Misinformation: How to Spot False Narratives (Part 3)
By Linda Fisher Thornton
This is Part 3 in a Leading in Context blog series sharing information on how to spot misinformation and false narratives. In case you missed them, Part 1 explored truth and narrative, and Part 2 examined how data and motives related to the truth. Part 3 will address the importance of media literacy.
Truth and Misinformation: How to Spot False Narratives (Part 2)
This is Part 2 in a Leading in Context blog series sharing information on how to spot misinformation and false narratives. In case you missed it, Part 1 explored truth and narrative. In Part 2, I will explore how data relates to the truth.
Truth and Misinformation: How to Spot False Narratives (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Sifting through mountains of information, people who want to do the right thing are finding it harder than ever to find the truth. We find ourselves dealing with the challenge of too much information and too little insight. This timely series will explore truth and misinformation. In each post, I will share a different way to spot misinformation and false narratives.
In Part 1, I will explore the concepts of truth and narrative.
What’s the Difference? Is It Fake News or Misinformation?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Most people are concerned about how much information that is “out there” isn’t true. And UPenn found that “misinformation works much more easily than the efforts to undo it. Their data revealed that misinformation is almost always accepted as fact — a staggering 99.6% of the time — whereas attempts to correct it succeed only in only 83% of cases.” (UPenn, Misinformation, Misconceptions, and Conspiracy Theories in Communication)
The Disinformation Machine
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Global unrest is being fueled by widespread misinformation campaigns. Who’s fueling these campaigns? The bad actors who are creating misinformation? Or the platforms who intentionally or unintentionally share false information for profit? Or the people who believe the disinformation they read and incite violence? Or the leaders who fail to recognize the clear and present danger of the disinformation machine? Or the leaders who do recognize the danger and turn away, doing nothing? Together, all of these are fueling the disinformation machine in a systemic self-reinforcing loop.
Ethical Thinking and Decision Making for Leaders (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Welcome to Part 1 in the series “Ethical Thinking and Decision Making for Leaders.” Welcome to Part 1 in the series “Ethical Thinking and Decision Making for Leaders.” Ethical decision-making is not simply a task. It is the process of analyzing and understanding multiple connected variables in a changing context AND applying ethical values to make responsible choices. It requires doing the work to understand issues clearly before making decisions or taking action. In each post in this series, I’ll explore one aspect of this complex, connected process. Today I’ll focus on the importance of deep thinking.
Recognizing Ethical Issues (Part 3)
By Linda Fisher Thornton
In Part 1 of this series on Recognizing Ethical Issues, I addressed the gaps in our thinking that require us to develop an ethical alert system. in Part 2, I explored why some leaders who want to do the right thing still don’t “do the work” to learn how to do it. In Part 3, I’ll dig into the importance of ethical awareness as the basis for ethical decision making.
How Dangerous Are Conspiracy Theories?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
How likely are we to believe things that aren’t true? According to Lynne Malcolm in The psychology of conspiracy theories, “Psychological research suggests that we’re all conspiracy theorists, thanks in a large part to our cognitive makeup.”
Seeing Past Our Point of View
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Have you noticed the steady increase in the complexity of navigating our daily lives? It feels like we have too many choices, too much information, and not enough time. More information and more choices would be great if we had the time to research and decide, but the reality is that it’s difficult and time consuming to sort out which information is reliable and which is not.
Seeing and appreciating other ways of doing things is not just a nice-to-have ability. In a connected global society, it’s an essential skill. To achieve mutual benefit and collaboration, we will need to see the world from other perspectives that differ from our own, respect those perspectives, and work together toward shared goals. Leaders who don’t know how and don’t make the effort to change can be thought of as intentionally “unseeing” important aspects of the context and their leadership responsibility.
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Defining Characteristics of Unethical Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton
This week I’m sharing posts that clearly describe what unethical leadership looks like, and caution readers about the risks of allowing it to continue. While I have always blogged about proactive ethical leadership, my posts on unethical leadership continue to be some of the most popular, so I know you’re looking for answers.
Ethical Awareness is a Moving Target
By Linda Fisher Thornton
How well is your organization navigating the ethical pitfalls of the working world? If you’re finding it to be a major challenge right now, you’re not alone.
Why is it so hard to navigate ethical minefields now? There is currently a “toxic soup” of factors at play…
Unethical Leadership: Beliefs of Convenience
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Sometimes leaders believe things that aren’t true because they haven’t taken time to investigate the truth. In other cases, they may have trusted someone who has misled them. But there’s an even more problematic reason some leaders may ignore the truth – claiming to believe the falsehood may benefit them in a tangible way.
Top Post Series of 2020: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton
The Top Post Series for last year on the Leading in Context Blog reflected the ethical challenges of decision-making during COVID-19.
Truth and Misinformation: How To Spot False Narratives
This series addressed the fine points of how to tell the difference between a false narrative and a message that is true. Here’s a highlight quote from each post in the series that provides an overview.
Leading in Context 