From the President How We Fight Misinformation

How We Fight Misinformation

MOST OF US are familiar with “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” a parable about a young shepherd who falsely convinces his neighbors that their sheep are under attack. But you might not know that the tale is roughly 2,600 years old—one of the legendary Aesop’s Fables. And while the primary lesson of the story has been passed on for generations of children, the very fact of its age provides another lesson, too: As long as there has been information, there has been misinformation.

Misinformation is the reason Consumer Reports was created 84 years ago, at a time when Americans were being bombarded by complex new technologies and an evolution in deceptive advertising. Product manufacturers that overpromise and questionable radio ads have given way to far more insidious forms of misinformation that threaten the integrity of our economy, our democracy, and the choices we make. Trust in the marketplace is harder than ever to come by—and the rise of social media has coincided with the weakening of trustworthy journalism, allowing conspiracy theories and alternate realities to take root.

Nowhere are the consequences of that trend more clear and devastating than in the context of COVID-19, which has led to what the World Health Organization has called an “infodemic”—the unchecked spread of sometimes deadly misinformation designed to prey on people’s fears and preconceptions. There has never been a greater need for trusted, expert information than there is today, with so many lives at stake—and now is a critical time for CR to redouble our mission to advance rigor and honesty in our society. That e ort will be an ongoing focus of our journalism and testing, as well as our Annual Meeting on Oct. 21—a virtual event that I hope you’ll tune in to at CR.org/annualmeeting. We at CR will continue to combat harmful misinformation and stand up for evidence and facts, as we have since our earliest days.

Marta L. Tellado, President and CEO

Follow me on Twitter

@MLTellado

President and CEO Marta L. Tellado

Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer Leonora Wiener Vice President, Chief Content Officer Gwendolyn Bounds

Editorial Director, Print Ellen Kunes Deputy Editor, Special Interest Publications Amanda Lecky Special Projects Editor Diane Umansky Features Editor Natalie van der Meer

Design Director Matthew Lenning Creative Director, Brand Young Kim Associate Design Director Mike Smith Art Directors Tammy Morton Fernandez, Ewelina Mrowiec, Nathan Sinclair Photo Editors Lacey Browne, Emilie Harjes, Karen Shinbaum

Senior Director, Content Development Glenn Derene Deputy Director, Content Development Christopher Kirkpatrick Associate Directors, Content Development Scott Billings, Althea Chang Enterprise Editor Kevin Doyle Senior Director, Content Impact & Corporate Outreach Jen Shecter Special Projects Joel Keehn, Director; Margot Gilman, Associate Director; Lisa L. Gill, Rachel Rabkin Peachman, Deputies; Ryan Felton, Donna Rosato, Writers Editorial Director, Digital Erle Norton Senior Director, Product Testing Maria Rerecich Director, Lab Operations Lilian Kayizzi

CARS: Editors/Writers: Keith Barry, Je S. Bartlett, Jonathan Linkov, Mike Monticello, Benjamin Preston Auto Test Center: Jake Fisher, Senior Director; Jennifer Stockburger, Director Product Testing: Michael Bloch, Steve Elek, Kelly Funkhouser, John Ibbotson, Chris Jones, Anita Lam, Gene Petersen, Ryan Pszczolkowski, Mike Quincy, Gabriel Shenhar, Shawn Sinclair, Emily A. Thomas, Joe Veselak HEALTH & FOOD: Lauren F. Friedman, Content Lead Editors/Writers: Trisha Calvo, Kevin Loria, Catherine Roberts Policy Lead: Brian Ronholm HOME & APPLIANCE: Eric Hagerman, Content Lead Editors/Writers: Daisy Chan, Mary Farrell, Paul Hope, Kimberly Janeway, Sara Morrow, Haniya Rae, Perry Santanachote, Daniel Wroclawski Product Testing: John Galeota ore, Emilio Gonzalez, James Nanni, Testing Leads; Peter Anzalone, John Banta, Susan Booth, Tara Casaregola, Lawrence Ciufo, Enrique de Paz, Bernard Deitrick, Cindy Fisher, Rich Handel, Misha Kollontai, Ginny Lui, Joan Muratore, Joseph Pacella, Christopher Regan, Frank Spinelli, Dave Trezza, Michael Visconti MONEY: Editors/Writers: Octavio Blanco, Tobie Stanger, Penelope Wang Policy Lead: Anna Laitin TECH: Jerry Beilinson, Content Lead Editors/Writers: Nicholas De Leon, Bree Fowler, Thomas Germain, Christopher Raymond, Allen St. John, Kaveh Waddell, James K. Willcox Product Testing: Richard Fisco, Testing Lead; Elias Arias, Antonette Asedillo, Steve Blair, Claudio Ciacci, Charles Davidman, Cody Feng, Henry Parra, Richard Sulin, Maurice Wynn Policy Lead: Justin Brookman Chief Scientific Officer James H. Dickerson Food Safety James E. Rogers, Director; Tunde Akinleye, Amy Keating, Ellen Klosz, Sana Mujahid, Charlotte Vallaeys Product Safety Don Huber, Director

Content Operations Robert Kanell, Director Premedia William Breglio, Associate Director; Eugene Chin, William Hunt, Anthony Terzo Production Nancy Crowfoot, Associate Director; Eric Norlander, Manager; Letitia Hughes, Terri Kazin, Aileen McCluskey Copy Editing Leslie Monthan, Copy Chief; Noreen Browne, Alison France, Wendy Green eld Fact Checking & Research David Schipper, Associate Director; Tracy Anderman, Sarah Goralski, Christine Gordon, Karen Jacob, Jamison Pfeifer Photography John Powers, John Walsh Imaging Francisco Collado, Mark Linder Chief Research Officer Kristen Purcell Consumer Engagement Testing Charu Ahuja, Director; Samuel Chapman, Linda Greene, Dana Keester Statistics & Data Science Michael Saccucci, Director; Kristen Dorrell, Dina Haner, Keith Newsom-Stewart Survey Research Karen Ja e, Simon Slater, Associate Directors; Dave Gopoian, Kendra Johnson, Debra Kalensky, Martin Lachter, Jane Manweiler, John McCowen, Adam Troy, Tian Wang, Tess Yanisch

Consumer Insight Monica Liriano, Associate Director; Selina Tedesco, Frank Yang Member Support Sue Mel , Director; Donna Murianka Marketing Dawn Nelson, Senior Director Procurement Operations Steven Schiavone, Associate Director Administration Decarris Bryant, Dawn Yancy Elleby

VICE PRESIDENTS: Financial Planning & Analysis JoAnne Boyd; Chief Digital Officer Jason Fox; Advocacy David Friedman; Chief Intelligence Officer Esther Han; General Counsel Michael Hubner; Research, Testing & Insights Liam McCormack; Chief Human Resources Officer Rafael Pérez; Chief Marketing Officer Lauren Stanich; Chief Social Impact Officer Shar Taylor; SVP, Chief Financial Officer Eric Wayne