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The 7 Rules of Trust

By Shlomo Maital

     I am a very frequent visitor to Wikipedia, founded by Jimmy Wales and a colleague in 2001 – a generation ago.  It is a largely reliable and up-to-date source of key information, right at your fingertips. And lately, it is being attacked by right-wing fanatics, as being ‘biased’.  Meaning – it fails to support far-right insanity.

      Wikipedia is a phenomenon.  Wales could have leveraged it to become a billionaire.  Most people would have. Instead, he has steadfastly kept it as non-profit, ad-free, and hence objective.  (Note, for instance, that Google and Apple have now prevented people from uploading videos of ICE police attacks on innocent victims – lest the 47^th President retaliate.

        Wales has now written a book, The 7 Rules of Trust, zeroing in on a key issue, perhaps THE key issue facing humanity today – lack of trust in political systems, democracy, and leadership.  We have lost trust, because it is now possible to disseminate conspiracy theories, lies, calumny, attacks, and fables, and have people who subscribe to the respective media believe them implicitly – including some of the most outrageous stupid vicious lies. (Example:  The Jewish religious rite of circumcision is a cause of autism!  By none other than the US Secretary of Health, no less!).

          Wales writes common sense.  Use the working hypothesis of trusting others, so they will trust you.  It is reciprocal.  Use critical thinking on everything you are told by leaders —  verify and trust.  Wikipedia, he argues, is a metaphor or method for restoring trust. 

            A colleague and I once challenged ChatGPT to find an innovate method for establishing greater trust in society.  Fakepedia, it said.  Establish a website where fake news is debunked and its author(s) exposed. 

              Jimmy?   Fakepedia?   In a sense,  Wikipedia IS a kind of fakepedia, because it offers truth while other websites offer lurid lies.