🛡️ Defending the Truth: Core Resources

Tools and thinkers to help distinguish truth from noise—and stand by it.

📘 Books & Essays

• Jonathan Rauch – The Constitution of Knowledge
  A must-read defense of truth in the age of disinformation and tribalism.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55918578-the-constitution-of-knowledge

• Maria Ressa – How to Stand Up to a Dictator
  A journalist’s frontline account of defending press freedom, facts, and truth in the digital age.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60434899-how-to-stand-up-to-a-dictator

• Timothy Snyder – On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
  One short chapter is titled: Believe in Truth. A call to resist “alternative facts.”
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33917107-on-tyranny

• Michael Shermer – Why People Believe Weird Things
  Classic exploration of pseudoscience, belief, and how truth gets twisted.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2715.Why_People_Believe_Weird_Things

• Kathleen Hall Jamieson – Cyberwar
  On how Russian disinformation shaped the 2016 election and what it means for the future.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38819217-cyberwar

• Carl Sagan – The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
  Still one of the clearest calls for skepticism, evidence, and defending rationality.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17349.The_Demon_Haunted_World

📺 Talks, Videos & Documentaries

• HBO – Q: Into the Storm
  A chilling look at how conspiracy theories spread—and who profits from them.
  https://www.hbo.com/q-into-the-storm

• Bruce Bartlett, “The Truth Matters”
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K0yb5RbWMg

• PBS Frontline – The Facebook Dilemma
  How social platforms have become vectors for disinformation and polarization.
  https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/facebook-dilemma/

• Julia Galef – The Scout Mindset (TEDx)
  Explains how to develop intellectual humility and update your beliefs with better evidence.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4RLfVxTGH4

• Jonathan Haidt – The Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives (TED)
  On the psychological roots of division and why truth is often tribalized.
  https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_the_moral_roots_of_liberals_and_conservatives

🔎 Tools & Fact-Checking Platforms

• Media Bias/Fact Check
  Rates bias and factual accuracy of news outlets.
  https://mediabiasfactcheck.com

• Snopes
  One of the oldest and most trusted debunking sites.
  https://www.snopes.com

• PolitiFact
  Tracks statements by public figures and rates them on a “Truth-O-Meter.”
  https://www.politifact.com

• FactCheck.org – Annenberg Public Policy Center
  Nonpartisan fact-checking for political and viral claims.
  https://www.factcheck.org

• USAFacts.org
  A nonprofit backed by Steve Ballmer offering raw, sourced, nonpartisan data on the U.S.
  https://usafacts.org

• Information Literacy Quiz – News Literacy Project
  An interactive tool to test your ability to spot misinformation.
  https://newslit.org

🧠 Related Concepts and Readings

• Bayesian Reasoning (via Julia Galef & Sean Carroll)
  Tools for updating beliefs based on evidence. Basic explainer

• Debunking Handbook 2020 – Cook & Lewandowsky (PDF)
  A concise guide to countering misinformation effectively.
  https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/debunking-handbook-2020/

• “The Illusion of Explanatory Depth” – Rozenblit & Keil
  A psychology paper explaining why people think they understand more than they do.
  PDF summary