: This theoretical paper examines whether acquiring better literacy skills may help people to be less vulnerable various types of information disorders such as fake news or conspiracy theories. We start this venture by looking, first, at the relationships between vulnerability and (or, more generally, formal education), second, literacy-induced transfer effects on cognitive skills. Then we will...

a commonly desired ultimate foundation or ground is full unity, community, or consensus, which is often, if not typically, figured as lost or perhaps lacking, usually because of the intrusive presence of others seen as outsiders or polluters of the city or the body politic. One may, however, insist that such unity, community, or consensus is absent and that the sociopolitical problem is how to ...

In this commentary, we review the growth of populist politics, associated with exploitation of what has been termed fake news. We explore how certain words have been used in similar contexts historically, in particular the term “enemy of the people,” especially with regard to public health. We then set out 6 principles for public health professionals faced with these situations. First, using th...