Increasingly, we live in a world where the very concept of “truth” is under fire. Social media feeds overflow with conflicting claims, AI-generated content is becoming indistinguishable from human-generated content, while public trust in institutions continues to erode. Meta’s recent announcement of eliminating third-party fact-checking marks just the latest milestone in this ongoing transformation of our information ecosystem.
For Canadian businesses, the stakes couldn’t be higher. When customers, employees, and stakeholders can’t agree on basic facts, how do organizations make decisions? When misinformation can damage a company’s reputation in minutes, how do leaders respond effectively? When political polarization threatens stability, how do businesses plan for the future?
To explore these questions and more, we turned to four leading experts whose work intersects with the challenges of our post-truth world.
How Did We Get Here?
This information crisis didn’t happen overnight. There are several interconnected forces that led us here — a perfect storm that has fundamentally altered how information flows through society and how truth is perceived.
The Spread of Misinformation and Disinformation
Timothy Caulfield is a professor of health law and science policy at the University of Alberta, who has spent decades researching and studying the spread of misinformation. He is the bestselling author of several books with his most recent being, The Certainty Illusion: What You Don’t Know and Why It Matters.
“The degree to which lies, rage, and hate has been normalized and legitimized over the past few years is breathtaking,” he said.
In the past, we’d see influential figures share “dog whistles” or implications of support for conspiracy theories, but now it’s straight up lies, Timothy said, with the assumption that these lies will land in the community they want to attract. This shift means businesses can no longer assume everyone agrees on basic facts or that there is a shared truth, making it increasingly difficult to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
The Technology Accelerant
The spread of misinformation has only been accelerated by social media. “Social media algorithms are driven by rage, fear, and political identity,” Timothy said. “They push things to us that they know will resonate.” And if you hear something enough, he added, it makes you feel like it’s true.
AI only adds to this minefield. It “dramatically democratizes the distribution of information,” Dwayne Matthews said, a future of work strategist specializing in the application of AI.
“Today, I can produce 1000 articles in seconds,” Dwayne said, “and post them any and everywhere. And if I’m very focused, I can start to shape how people think about reality.” The result is what Dwayne calls a crisis of “epistemic security”, which is the preservation of truth itself. In a world where anyone can create convincing fake content at scale, distinguishing fact from fiction becomes increasingly difficult.
A Rise in Institutional Distrust
The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 61% of people hold grievances against government, business, and the rich, Morgan Hamel said, an expert in business ethics and ethical leadership.
This rising animosity is significant, she continued, especially as people can make their voice heard through social media in a way that didn’t previously exist. The strategies that leaders and organizations have historically leaned on to guide them, such as core values, a code of conduct, HR policies, etc., while still necessary are insufficient to navigate this new landscape, Morgan said.
The Political Dimension: Rise of Populism
When speaking about the spread of misinformation, Timothy credited populism. Studies have shown, he said, that creating distrust, feeding polarization, is a common strategy for these kinds of political movements.
“Polarization divides people into either/or groups that think about issues in black and white terms,” Janice Gross Stein said, a geopolitical expert and the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. “That kind of black-and-white thinking leads people to deny or dismiss evidence that is inconsistent with their beliefs and, at the extreme, stigmatizes people who disagree with them.”
“Polarization in Canada and globally makes consensus more difficult to achieve, leads to winner take-all politics, and increases social conflict,” Janice added.
Right now, no country has more at stake than Canada. Business leaders should be laser focused on preserving and deepening their relationships with US suppliers and customers and looking for new opportunities in other markets.
Janice Gross Stein
The Impact on Business
The post-truth environment creates specific challenges for Canadian businesses:
- A Chaotic Information Ecosystem: Leaders need to figure out how to use social media and technology positively without furthering polarization and rage. This is the challenge of our time, Timothy said.
- Competing Stakeholder Expectations and Rising Stakeholder Influence: Today, organizations are more permeable, Morgan said. There is far more scrutiny from internal and external stakeholders regarding what and how much organizations should do to address societal problems, and there is far more public means to judge those actions or inactions.
- Reputational Risks: Dwayne warned about the need for “narrative sovereignty” in today’s world, noting how quickly misinformation can damage corporate reputation. With AI, companies need more than a PR spokesperson, they need to employ bots to counter chatter online in real time, he said.
- Operational Vulnerability: “90% of all cybersecurity threats are human error,” Dwayne said, whether that’s social engineering or reverse engineering. Too many of us have weak passwords and overshare on social media, all of which can be exploited far more easily and quickly with AI. Employees become security risks, with Dwayne believing companies will, in the not so near future, require cyber hygiene scores.
- Trade Uncertainty: Right now, no country has more at stake than Canada, Janice said. Business leaders should be laser focused on preserving and deepening their relationships with US suppliers and customers and looking for new opportunities in other markets.
Navigating the Post-Truth Era: Core Strategies for Business Leaders
Faced with these unprecedented challenges, what concrete steps can Canadian business leaders take?
1. Embrace Moral Humility
Morgan advocates for “moral humility,” arguing that traditional black-and-white ethical frameworks are increasingly insufficient.
“Organizations or people that tend to get in trouble today are those that exhibit an overconfidence in their beliefs,” she explains. Instead, leaders should exercise moral humility — acknowledge the complexity, admit they don’t have all the answers, and embrace both/and thinking.
At the same time, they need to create environments where people can speak honestly about sensitive topics. Without this, organizations risk blind spots that can lead to reputational damage, Morgan said.
2. Build Governance for Decision-Making
Morgan also recommends that organizations approach this at a strategic level, creating a clear framework at the highest governance level to determine how and when their organization takes a stand. This is specific to grey areas, she added, not obvious instances with legal implications.
This framework will not only help you, as an organizational leader, navigate certain polarizing topics but it will also help you communicate your plan to your diverse stakeholders in advance of controversies, instead of reactively during them.
3. Prioritize Epistemic Security
As stated above, Dwayne believes epistemic security is the biggest risk for businesses. He urges executives to make this top of mind.
This starts by building AI resistance to their knowledge base and question how they know the information driving their decisions is true. You can create your own AI systems to bolster your epistemic defence, he said. Dwayne also recommends diversity of thought — diverse voices on your team as well as diverse software — don’t pick one AI tool and ban everything else. That’s risky, he says.
Leaders also need to build their own and their team’s digital literacy not only to use AI tools properly but ethically as well. Leaders need to prioritize time to learn, practice, and build this skillset.
4. Communicate with Evidence and Transparency
Acknowledge that there are conflicting views and strong disagreement about issues, Janice advised. Then deliver the best evidence you have in a language that people can understand, detailing why you trust the source. “And when there is no evidence and the issue is about values,” she continued, “tell people what your values are and why they matter to you and to your company.”
“Admitting that the evidence is weak or inconsistent increases people’s trust in leaders,” Janice added.
Timothy similarly encourages leaders to “lean into evidence-based strategies to counter misinformation in a positive and constructive way.” A Harvard study recently suggested that “if you affirm what the science says in a positive way… you are more likely to have a stronger, positive impact.”
That being said, leaders shouldn’t be afraid to counter misinformation, Timothy added. Research has confirmed that countering misinformation doesn’t backfire or make it worse, instead it’s important to set the record straight. “If the correct information isn’t out there, no one will find it,” he said.
5. Pause: Step Back Before Stepping Up
In a world of instant reactions, Timothy emphasized the power of a pause. “So much content is tethered to emotion, grievances, and fear. By pausing, you break that emotional connection, allowing you to consume that content with dispassion and reason. Research shows this makes a difference.”
Morgan similarly advocates for reflection over speed. “That is what a thoughtful, considerate, and empathetic person or corporation would and should do,” she said. This deliberate pause isn’t about inaction or avoidance. Rather, it creates space for the moral humility, evidence-based thinking, and careful governance mentioned above.
The Path Forward: Need Expert Guidance for Your Organization?
In a world where truth itself is under assault, Canadian business leaders have an opportunity to differentiate themselves through ethical leadership and evidence-based decision-making to not just preserve their organizations’ credibility but contribute to the restoration of truth on a societal level.
Our featured experts are available for keynote speaking engagements to help your organization navigate these complex issues. Contact us today to book these thought leaders for your next event and equip your team with strategies to thrive in a post-truth world.
