Should the US President be able to lie with impunity to the American people?
If you say “NO!” the time to act is now! Help make sure the next US President is accountable to the standard of truthfulness described in the simple 12 truth-oriented behaviors of the Pro-Truth Pledge.
It’s not an impossible goal. After all, several members of the US Congress, dozens of state legislators, and hundreds of other politicians have committed publicly to being truthful by taking the Pro-Truth Pledge. This list includes many Republican and Democratic politicians in the US, as well as members of third parties in the US and other politicians around the globe.
They did so because readers like you approached them to encourage them to take the pledge. That includes in person at candidate forums in town halls, or virtually through phone calls, email, social media, website contact pages, and other means. We have clear guidelines for you to use on how to pitch politicians on the pledge, as well as public figures in general, and you can do so on your own anytime.
All the politicians who took the pledge are now being held accountable to their commitment by the many private citizens who took the pledge. Their reputations will suffer significantly if they’re caught making false statements and aren’t willing to admit they’re wrong. Research shows that reputational penalties for lying are effective in making politicians more truthful. Indeed, we know that the
The key is to approach politicians about the pledge when it can make the biggest difference to their political career: during highly competitive election campaigns. After all, taking the pledge is valuable for a politician as a sign of a strong public commitment to truthfulness. Politicians get the most benefits from making this commitment when their potential constituents are paying attention during elections. It’s especially helpful for politicians to take the pledge when other candidates in the race haven’t taken it, since the pledge-taking candidate can then differentiate themselves as the one publicly committed to truthfulness.
That’s why it’s a particularly good time to approach the candidates for the Democratic Party nomination to run for US President. There are over 20 candidates as of the time of publication. Each is struggling to differentiate themselves from their opponents. Only one has taken the pledge so far, one of the front-runners – Beto O’Rourke. Wisely, he did so on video, as you can see below.
While you can approach Democratic candidates individually, you can also be part of a team effort to get them to take the pledge. If you’d like to be part of this team effort, fill out the volunteering survey below. We’ll also be contacting any Republican candidates, though because the primary campaign among Republicans is very unlikely to be competitive, we will be focusing the vast majority of our time on the competitive Democratic presidential primary.
By encouraging Democratic presidential candidates to take the Pro-Truth Pledge, you will maximize the chance that the next US President will speak the truth to the American people. Help roll back the “Post-Truth” era of lies and deception!