Welcome to the TruthLab Experiment
The Age of Debate is dead (and it almost killed us all). It's time to focus on our search for answers.
Many of us remember the high-minded early days of social media. Anything seemed possible. A wealth of networks emerged, on which people from around the world could connect, build relationships around mutual interests, learn about how others lived, support causes in our communities, or simply stay in touch with old friends and distant family members.
In those simpler days of the social web, optimism was ubiquitous. Social media was framed as a tool for connection, participation, and shared understanding. Platform creators promised to give everyone a voice and create a more informed public.
As these platforms scaled, incentives shifted. Engagement became central, and public debate (or, to be more precise, anger) proved effective at capturing attention. By the mid‑2010s, argument became performance and persuasion became spectacle.
The result was not more clarity but more noise. People didn’t stop caring about truth, they simply forgot the path to finding it.
At TruthLab, we believe the internet can move beyond debate as its default mode. Learning and accuracy do not require constant confrontation. They require trust, process, and care.
We believe in the following principles:
Explanation over opposition.
Process as the source of authority.
The right to disengage.
Revision as integrity.
Asynchronous thinking over instant reaction.
Smaller, trust‑based spaces.
Better outlets for interests and curiosity
Care as a cognitive value.
In short, we believe in the search for truth through science, research and rigorous investigation and we think telling the story of those who are seeking the truth can bring people together and return our collective focus to building a brighter future for our country. And we happen to think all of this can be fun, engaging and very “clickable.”
Truth is not something to win, but something to seek, build and protect.
We look forward to highlighting unique people, research, science and thinking and we hope you’ll join our community.