The Remedy: Project Evidence Closes Our Media Trust Gap

Project Evidence (full read here) is a thorough exposé claiming that SARS-Cov-2 originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. For a summarized list of the claims with links to support for said claims, here is the conclusion. It is organized and details the writers' purpose, motives, incentives and methodology. It provides links to further sources and does not provide political commentary or fall into common traps which reveal hidden bias or intent.

While the origin of this virus matters greatly for posterity's sake, perhaps the most important development here is a new style of journalism. Project Evidence is more than investigative journalism. It is open source research.

They provide a good faith, expert argument that goes beyond de rigueur: it is genuine truth seeking in the style of evidence-based white papers. The paper had the following features:

• Biography (in this case it was anonymous and open source);

• Contribution and information sourcing methodology;

• Clear hypothesis and support for the position;

• They treat the antithesis fairly;

• They provide clear substantiation and back-up for all sources.

A reader of any persuasion emerges from wrestling with this text with a clear grasp of the facts and can form her own opinion, free of influence from governments, media and institutions. This ultimately holds the aforementioned groups accountable.

The Fourth Estate

In the Middle Ages, Europe was comprised of three "estates:” the church, nobility and the commoners. The invention of the printing press led to a fourth estate: the press. Most reading materials were in Latin including the Bible. Only priests and nobility could read it and thus used interpretation of information to weld influence.

Martin Luther was able to spread his critique of the church by translating and printing the Bible and his accompanying letters and distributing en masse in his region. People could access and interpret information for themselves and thus hold the other estates accountable.

Eventually the media emerged as a fourth estate. This was an independent class capable of distributing information to everyone and thus providing structural accountability to the estates.

Incentives, competence and ethics generally serve to compromise the society's institutional structures and now we're living in an era of estate warfare. Edelman's Trust Barometer 2020 shows that no institution is perceived by society at large as both competent and ethical.

Trust as a Market Opportunity

There is a large market opportunity for today’s estates. People buy trust. Every ecommerce purchase you make is actually a transaction of trust in the competence and ethics of the counterparty. Can they assemble labor to produce your goods and ship them? Will they just take your money and run?

The mere use of American fiat currency is an allocation of trust that the United States Government can and will uphold its laws. Every printed dollar bill says "This Note is Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private." Here’s hoping the government makes sure you are absolved when you provide tender for your debts.

This is also why reviews are important on Amazon, Yelp, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Uber and why brands spend millions on social media teams to interact with you on Twitter. These marketplaces act as effective “fourth estates” between you and the institutions with which you transact.

Trust is the economic incentive for both competent and ethical behavior.

The Media, the Government, and COVID-19

Back to the issue at hand. The Fourth Estate had a contract with the Common Estate to, at a minimum, pursue interests independent of the church and nobility. Clearly that didn't last forever.

Most mainstream media sources claim to be "fair and balanced.” They jockey for gamechanging breaks in important stories for the satisfaction of notoriety. They compromise journalistic integrity by publishing too fast and merely cite "sources." 

Information isn't regulated by a visible objective truth. We don't get to compare what we read with some objective authority in real time. In absence of absolute authority we make it ourselves in the form of contracts.

In every deal, the governing authority is a contract. The contract binds both parties to the pursuit of standards. In society rather than business there are social contracts which establish the function of society’s various members.

In money, many rally around cryptocurrency and blockchain because it poses to decentralize authority. Blockchain is an amoral incentive structure designed to promote and enforce ethical and competent behavior. A public ledger system that no one owns which provides record of title ensures that contracts are executed.

In information, sources like Project Evidence will continue to emerge. As blockchain equivalents, the governing authority is a contract with the Common Estate to allow the Common Estate direct access to source information. 

While Project Evidence may change the way we see COVID-19, it may forever change the way those in power are held accountable.