GCRI · Fields across the Consortium
Information and public trust
Information integrity is a risk field because collective action in a crisis depends on accurate warnings and trusted institutions. Manipulated or chaotic information environments break that link.
01Contents
Information and public trust in six parts.
02Three mandates
The field, seen three ways.
GRA
Financial understanding
No platform yet in this field.
03Simulator
A threshold model of collective behaviour.
Each agent acts once enough of its contacts have; small changes in the mean threshold or the early movers decide whether the behaviour stays local or cascades through the population. Teaching model with stated illustrative values, not a prediction.
Controls
- Mean threshold (share of neighbours)
- 18%
- Spread of thresholds
- 8 points
- Early movers
- 2.0% of people
- Contacts per person
- 8
Readouts
- Share who acted in the end
- 100%
- Global cascade
- Yes
- Steps to settle
- 8
Numbers, methods and sources
| Step | Share who have acted (%) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 2.3 |
| 1 | 10.5 |
| 2 | 28.0 |
| 3 | 50.5 |
| 4 | 72.8 |
| 5 | 89.3 |
| 6 | 98.0 |
| 7 | 100.0 |
| 8 | 100.0 |
Methods
- Threshold models of collective behaviour Granovetter (1978), American Journal of Sociology 83
- Global cascades on random networks Watts (2002), PNAS 99
- Complex contagions Centola and Macy (2007), American Journal of Sociology 113
- One-at-a-time sensitivity (tornado) Saltelli and others (2008), Global Sensitivity Analysis: The Primer, Wiley
Data
No observed data enters this model: it runs on the teaching values set by the controls, to be replaced with a programme’s own evidence.
Across the six pillars, led by Nexus Consortium
- Experiments Labs at GCRI: Labs
- Built in Foundry at GCRI: Foundry
- Tested at Universe at GCRI: Universe technical office
- Codified in Nexus Standards
- Published in Reports at GCRI: Publish
- Taught in Risk Academy
04The systemic question
Warning, trust and manipulation.
An early warning works only if it is received, understood, believed and acted on. Research on risk communication shows that trust in the source, consistency across channels and clear action guidance matter as much as accuracy. Coordinated manipulation, synthetic media and platform design can erode each of those conditions.
- Warning dissemination across broadcast, cell broadcast and social channels.
- Measurement of exposure to false or manipulated information.
- Provenance and labelling of synthetic content.
05Frameworks
Standards for warnings and content.
| Framework or body | What it governs or supplies |
|---|---|
| Common Alerting Protocol (ITU-T X.1303) | Standard format for public warnings across channels |
| Early Warnings for All, pillar three | Warning dissemination and communication |
| UNESCO and UN work on information integrity | Principles for information ecosystems |
08Sources
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
09Questions
Questions and answers.
Why does GCRI host field gateways?
GCRI hosts the shared references of the Consortium, including the STEM Commons and the field gateways, so each field has one place that links all three institutions’ work.
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