April 2 is International Fact-Checking Day. This “holiday” started in 2017, conveniently parked on the calendar right after April Fools Day, to remind us why truth matters in the first place. Of course, we know that misinformation spreads far faster than facts, opinions now expertly masquerade as evidence, and millions of us have retreated into echo chambers of what we want to believe instead of what’s actually true.
That’s why, eight years on, it’s not enough to just promote fact-checking. We’ve got to make a deeper choice.
Once, fact-checking was seen as enough: If you found an impartial arbiter to determine what is true and what isn’t, the rest would take care of itself. The last decade, however, has shown that notion to be woefully inadequate. The real, necessary, democratic work comes in what happens next. We have to become not just fact-checkers but fact-accepters.
That means being willing to sit with a truth even if it challenges us, absorb it, let it shape our understanding, and, if need be, change. If we don’t open our hearts and minds to the difference between reality and preference, between what is and what we wish to be, then all the fact-checking in the world isn’t worth a bucket of warm spit. It’ll get swept up in the noise and become more fuel for the hyperpartisan fires.
Bad actors – at home and abroad – know this. They understand that flooding our social media feeds with lies and half-truths doesn’t have to change everyone’s mind. It just has to confuse us, exhaust us, and divide us. They’re not trying to inform you but to manipulate you. When enough of us give up on the idea of shared reality and start believing that every fact is up for debate, then the foundation of our democracy begins to crack.
If that sounds serious, it’s because it is. But we must believe that we can turn it around and choose a different and better path.
Sadly, this has to be said in 2025: The truth isn’t red or blue. It’s just the truth. When we are willing to sit with uncomfortable facts – to listen, think critically, and accept that we might not always be right – that’s not weakness, as some would have you believe. That’s citizenship. That’s patriotism.
We talk a lot about civil discourse at Civic Nebraska. It’s a close cousin to fact-checking; both come from a core belief that what we say and do should be rooted in a shared reality and mission of improving our society, regardless of what else we disagree on. And that when we disagree, we still owe each other a basic level of respect because we’re still trying to build something together.
So how do we start building that something? How do we shift our attitudes in an age of misinformation, disinformation, digital propaganda, and a daily flood of content engineered to provoke instead of inform?
We start by slowing down. If something you read or see online sparks instant outrage or satisfaction, we should take a breath. A fast reaction might be exactly what the post is designed to provoke. Instead of hitting share, ask yourself: Is this helping me understand the world better, or is it just making me feel more right about what I already believed?
We start by asking better questions. Not just “Is this true?” but “Why is this being said? Who’s saying it? Who benefits from me believing it?” The source matters. So does the motive.
We open ourselves to the idea that learning never ends. Holding strong values doesn’t mean clinging to the same opinions forever. It’s OK to learn something new. It’s OK to say, “You know what, I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Again, contrary to what hard-liners in our media and government think, that’s a sign of strength.
We remember that most of the challenges we face as a country aren’t simple. Our challenges don’t fit neatly into slogans or headlines. They’re complicated. They require us to sit with discomfort and complexity, and to resist the temptation of easy answers.
We commit to talking with intention. Not to “win,” but to understand. We can’t control how others enter a conversation, but we can choose to bring honesty, humility, and a willingness to listen.
And most of all, we make fact-accepting a habit. When we come across real, credible information, even if it contradicts what we thought we knew, we sit with it. We learn from it. We let it shape us, even if it takes time. Because democracy doesn’t only need informed people. It doesn’t only need passionate people. It needs open people – people with enough humility to let the truth in.
So, on this International Fact-Checking Day, let’s go beyond Step One and do what we are called to do: Commit to knowing the truth, yes, but then accepting it. With honesty, humility, and the hope that, together, we can build something stronger, wiser, and more just.
The truth belongs to all of us. And when we embrace it, we protect it – and we protect our rare and precious democracy.
