A group of 11 leading economists issued a stark warning this week: the global crisis of access to reliable information poses an existential threat to economic growth, human welfare, and global development efforts broadly.
In a new report, the High-Level Panel on Public Interest Media convened by the Forum on Information and Democracy argues that public interest media is as vital to the 21st-century economy as central banks are to financial systems, providing the trust and accountability needed for markets to function.
If governments don’t step in to protect and invest in public interest media, they caution, disinformation will continue to erode economies, weaken social welfare, and undermine democracy itself.