What is true, and what is not?
It’s a deeply philosophical question. The answer might be to ask an expert. But how do you know the expert is right? And what happens when experts disagree, or are proven wrong?
There’s another way: the wisdom of the crowd. Large groups of people, when incentivized correctly, often outperform experts. A phenomenon we’re beginning to see more clearly.
Take betting markets. Instead of trusting pollsters or analysts to predict election outcomes, we look at where people are putting their money. And it works — these markets are often more accurate than professional forecasts.
On social media, this is taking shape in new ways. X/Twitter uses Community Notes to crowdsource fact-checking. Facebook is now switching from ‘expert-driven’ content moderation, to similar fact-digging (to much debate).
It feels like a counterbalance to the age of expert-driven truth. A shift toward crowds, collaboration, and consensus.
The pendulum swings back and forth.
Where will this trend go next? Will crowdsourcing truth bring us clarity? Or will it deepen the divide?