Is your company Democracy Positive?

Another green corporate buzzword is making the rounds: “Nature Positive.”

But what does this really mean? More hot air? More inaction? More distraction?

The outcomes are what matter (and they don’t look good):

I’d like to see this chart going back four hundred years…

For the billionaires and other anti-socials who support accelerationism, your children will curse you – if they survive.

For the rest of us, it’s time to fight.

Is your company democracy positive? Or is it actively promoting fascism?

Start by voting for democracy.

Stupidity as a Strategic Risk: How Misinformation Became a Societal Problem

I have to say that as a society, we have crossed the tipping point of mass-stupidity – the perfect storm of stupid. The latest proof of this is the tsunami of conspiracy theories during Hurricane Milton – leading to death threats against meteorologists who are finding it difficult to report the Truth amongst the flood of misinformation.

Misinformation poses a strategic risk not just to businesses and governments but to society as a whole. The rise in conspiracies and fact-resistant narratives, coupled with death threats against meteorologists during Hurricane Milton, illustrates a growing disconnect between facts and public perception. Addressing this requires understanding the root causes: misleadership, industry influence, and societal conditions that foster ignorance.

“Flood the Zone” – The Role of Misleadership in Misinformation

Leadership shapes both belief systems and societal trust in institutions. Donald Trump’s rhetoric during his presidency exemplifies how misinformation becomes institutionalized when leadership actively sows distrust. Trump’s frequent accusations of “fake news” and his endorsement of conspiracy theories undermined not just individual policies but the public’s overall trust in expert institutions. By encouraging skepticism toward media, scientific research, and even democratic processes, his leadership has contributed to the normalization of irrational beliefs. This is misleadership. Manufactured nihilism.

This article outlines Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone with sh*t” strategy, which involves overwhelming the media landscape with misinformation to confuse and polarize the public. This tactic was linked to Trump’s impeachment trial, as misinformation played a crucial role in shaping public perception and deflecting attention from key issues. Bannon’s approach highlights the challenges democracy faces in an era where false information can easily dominate the discourse, potentially undermining trust in democratic institutions​.

Why do our leaders lie so blatantly in public?

Let’s also remember Hannah Arendt‘s warning: The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between true and false no longer exists.

Hannah Arendt’s observation that totalitarian rule thrives not on die-hard ideologues but on those who lose the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood resonates deeply with modern political misinformation strategies. Politicians who flood the public sphere with misinformation, like Steve Bannon’s tactic, aim to erode trust in objective reality. When people are overwhelmed with conflicting or false information, they may become cynical or apathetic, which makes them more vulnerable to manipulation, much like the conditions Arendt describes under totalitarian regimes. This disorientation undermines democratic engagement.

We must demand our leaders foster a healthy information ecosystem. Business leadership is not only about decisions but about responsibility to society and the Common Good (remember Drucker?). Misinformation, when promoted by figures of authority, corrodes the integrity of all social structures. Trump’s endorsement of baseless ideas and outright lies is an example of leadership failing in this duty, deliberately sowing confusion and creating a society that increasingly disregards evidence-based decision-making.

A post-truth society is a society which has no future. Denying reality does not change it.

The Fossil Fuel Industry and Climate Misinformation

Compounding this issue is the deliberate spread of misinformation by industries with vested interests. The fossil fuel industry, for example, has played a long-term strategic role in lying and deliberately confusing the public about climate change. For decades, companies have used disinformation campaigns to question the science of climate change, much like the tobacco industry did to deny links between smoking and cancer. By funding think tanks and lobbying groups, the industry has created a pervasive narrative that climate change is either not real or not caused by human activity, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. They are deeply anti-democratic.

This is a total failure of leadership, a lack of societal stewardship. The responsibility of industry extends beyond profitability to ensuring that its actions do not endanger public well-being. By spreading falsehoods, the fossil fuel industry has compromised this responsibility, endangering not just the environment but also the public’s capacity to make informed choices. This deliberate misinformation campaign has created a society where public trust in science and expert knowledge is eroded, contributing to a broader climate of skepticism, undermining democracy and our public institutions.

Bonhoeffer’s Insight on Stupidity and Societal Conditions

Understanding this trend through a social lens brings us to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s observations on stupidity as a societal problem. Bonhoeffer argued that stupidity is more dangerous than malice because it makes individuals impervious to reason. While malice can be confronted and defeated, stupidity entrenches itself in social structures, often with the individual unaware they are being manipulated. The underlying issue is not just a failure of intellect but of structure. People become stupid when societal conditions—such as isolation or powerful external influences—strip them of their critical thinking and autonomy.

Social media, combined with leadership failures and industry manipulation, creates an ecosystem ripe for mass-stupidity. When large sections of the population believe “alternative-facts,” they are not just ignorant—they become weaponized against rational discourse, as seen in the death threats against meteorologists. This results from a breakdown in the structures that should empower informed citizenship: education, media, and leadership.

Will you fight misinformation?

A leader’s job is to build an environment where knowledge and truth thrives. To combat the spread of misinformation and the societal conditions that foster it, leaders and industries must take responsibility for creating systems of trust and accountability. Educational reforms that emphasize critical thinking, regulatory oversight for social media platforms, and strong public communication strategies are essential steps. Narrative laundering must be traced and made public.

Leaders, both in government and industry, must rebuild societal trust in expert knowledge. If trust is broken, societal progress halts. This is a matter of strategic foresight—leaders must address misinformation not merely as a nuisance but as a wicked problem, a strategic threat to the functioning of democratic society.

Step one: Speak Out.

Stay tuned for more on what we can do, and follow the Wicked7 project.