Truth sandwich: Difference between revisions

A '''truth sandwich''' is a technique in [[journalism]] to cover stories involving [[misinformation]] without unintentionally furthering the spread of false or misleading clamsclaims. It entails presenting the truth about a subject before covering misinformation, then ending a story by again presenting truth. [[Margaret Sullivan (journalist)|Margaret Sullivan]] summarized it as "reality, spin, reality — all in one tasty, democracy-nourishing meal".<ref name="Washington Post" />

The idea was developed by [[Linguistics|linguist]] [[George Lakoff]], and the name was coined in June 2018 by [[Brian Stelter]] of [[CNN]].<ref name="Sartwell-2018">{{Cite news|last=Sartwell|first=Crispin|date=2018-08-05|title=‘Truth Sandwich’? Baloney!|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/truth-sandwich-baloney-1533496472 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-02-17|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215081810/https://www.wsj.com/articles/truth-sandwich-baloney-1533496472|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cnn20180615">{{cite web |last1=Waldow |first1=Julia |title=George Lakoff says this is how Trump uses words to con the public |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/15/media/reliable-sources-podcast-george-lakoff/index.html |website=CNNMoney |access-date=7 April 2024 |date=15 June 2018}}</ref> Lakoff observed media organizations spreading misinformation by quoting politicians or pundits who lie or mislead.

Lakoff was specifically interested in the ways journalists were covering [[Donald Trump]], who made an [[VeracityFalse ofor misleading statements by Donald Trump|unprecedented number of false and misleading statements]] over the course of his term as [[President of the United States]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Analysis {{!}} Tracking all of President Trump’s false or misleading claims|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/ |date=Jan 20, 2021 |first1=Glenn |last1=Kessler |first2=Meg |last2=Kelly |first3=Salvador |last3=Rizzo |first4=Michelle Ye Hee |last4=Lee |first5=Leslie |last5=Shapiro |access-date=2022-02-16|website=[[The Washington Post]]|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120194744/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Baker|first=Peter|date=2018-03-17|title=Trump and the Truth: A President Tests His Own Credibility|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/trump-truth-lies.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-02-16|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2018-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021075420/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/trump-truth-lies.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-09-25|title=Scope of Trump's falsehoods unprecedented for a modern presidential candidate|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-false-statements-20160925-snap-story.html |first1=Michael |last1=Finnegan |access-date=2022-02-16|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US|archive-date=2019-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111540/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-false-statements-20160925-snap-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Lakoff has written about Trump's effective use of language and [[Framing (social sciences)|framing]] techniques, understanding the media will cover and repeat his most controversial statements, stereotypes, and pithy mischaracterization, thus turning even his critics into part of his marketing apparatus.<ref name="Lakoff-2018">{{Cite web|last=Lakoff|first=George P. |first2=Gil |last2=Duran |date=2018-06-13|title=Trump has turned words into weapons. And he's winning the linguistic war {{!}} George P Lakoff and Gil Duran|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/13/how-to-report-trump-media-manipulation-language|access-date=2022-02-17|website=the[[The Guardian]]|language=en|archive-date=2021-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129201437/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/13/how-to-report-trump-media-manipulation-language|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sartwell-2018" /> Standard journalistic practice involves repeating claims made by public figures or quoting them directly, but when the public figure is spreading misinformation or disinformation, repetition of the claims can amplify them and increase their harm. Sometimes lies are too consequential to ignore, however, placing journalists in a difficult position.<ref name="Poynter-2020">{{Cite web|date=2020-08-18|title=How to serve up a tasty ‘truth sandwich?’|url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/how-to-serve-up-a-tasty-truth-sandwich/ |first1=Roy Peter |last1=Clark |access-date=2022-02-17|website=Poynter|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-02-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217044745/https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/how-to-serve-up-a-tasty-truth-sandwich/|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Lakoff, even if you cover a lie and say afterwards that what was just said was false, the message has still been spread, and "denying a frame, activates the frame".<ref>{{Citation|title=How to make a 'truth sandwich' - |website=CNN Video|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2018/06/17/how-to-make-a-truth-sandwich-rs.cnn|access-date=2022-02-16|archive-date=2020-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129202100/https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2018/06/17/how-to-make-a-truth-sandwich-rs.cnn|url-status=live}}</ref> He argues that repetition strengthens "frame-circuits" in the brain that we use to understand the world.<ref name="Lakoff-2018" /> A truth sandwich ensures the bad information is not the first thing people read or hear, nor the final impression of a story at the end. Restating false claims can reinforce them through repetition, but adding repetition of their [[fact-checking]] and rebuttal can have a similar effect.<ref name="Washington Post">{{Cite news|title=Perspective {{!}} Instead of Trump’s propaganda, how about a nice ‘truth sandwich’?|language=en-US|work=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/instead-of-trumps-propaganda-how-about-a-nice-truth-sandwich/2018/06/15/80df8c36-70af-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html |url-access=subscription |first1=Margaret |last1=Sullivan |date=Jun 17, 2018 |access-date=2022-02-17|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2022-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120164956/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/instead-of-trumps-propaganda-how-about-a-nice-truth-sandwich/2018/06/15/80df8c36-70af-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[PBS]] published a blog post which explained the principle behind a truth sandwich is already something its editorial standards address: "Accuracy includes more than simply verifying whether information is correct; facts must be placed in sufficient context based on the nature of the piece to ensure that the public is not misled".<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is a 'Truth Sandwich'?|url=https://www.pbs.org/standards/blogs/standards-articles/what-is-a-truth-sandwich/ |first1= Marcia |last1=Apperson |date=April 22, 2020 |access-date=2022-02-16|website=PBS Standards|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215120328/https://www.pbs.org/standards/blogs/standards-articles/what-is-a-truth-sandwich/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roy Peter Clark]] wrote for ''[[Poynter Institute|Poynter]]'' that the idea of a truth sandwich is like the [[rhetoric]]al concept of "emphatic word order", where someone places "emphatic words" at the beginning and end of a sentence. In journalism, Clark wrote, "the position of least emphasis turns out to be the middle".<ref name="Poynter-2020" />

Truth sandwiches have been used, advocated, or discussed in the context of a range of topics where misinformation is particularly widespread. A group of scientists writing about the challenge of [[COVID-19 misinformation|misinformation about coronavirus vaccines]] during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] advocated truth sandwiches as a communication strategy in their guide to dispelling common myths.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jensen|first=Elizabeth|date=2019-03-08|title=Injecting NPR's Vaccine Coverage With Respect — And Facts|language=en|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2019/03/08/701591482/injecting-nprs-vaccine-coverage-with-respect-and-facts|access-date=2022-02-16|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215063030/https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2019/03/08/701591482/injecting-nprs-vaccine-coverage-with-respect-and-facts|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-07|title=Scientists create guide to building truth ‘sandwich’ to combat Covid misinformation|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-vaccines-misinformation-scientists-truth-sandwich-b1783401.html|access-date=2022-02-17|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213112649/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-vaccines-misinformation-scientists-truth-sandwich-b1783401.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In an article about truth sandwiches at ''[[Journalism.co.uk]],'' Joseph Cummins uses the term "[[Belief perseverance|backfire effect]]" for when "telling people that what they believe in is false [makes] them double down on their beliefs".<ref name="Cummins-2022">{{Cite web|last=Cummins|first=Joseph|date=2022-02-02|title=The truth sandwich: how to cover falsehoods from official sources {{!}} Media news|url=https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/truth-sandwich-how-to-report-falsehoods-from-official-sources-journalism-misinformation/s2/a899610/|access-date=2022-02-17|website=www.journalismJournalism.co.uk|archive-date=2022-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216162709/https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/truth-sandwich-how-to-report-falsehoods-from-official-sources-journalism-misinformation/s2/a899610/|url-status=live}}</ref> He urged journalists to utilize the technique, or keep in mind its principles, in not just the main writing about a story involving falsehoods, but also the images, headlines, social media, and other elements of coverage.<ref name="Cummins-2022" />

[[Crispin Sartwell]] opined in the [[The Wall Street Journal|''Wall Street Journal'']] that using truth sandwiches is manipulative and condescending, and noted that the name is confusing because sandwiches are typically named for what is in the middle, not for the bread.<ref name="Poynter-2020" /><ref name="Sartwell-2018" /> (Compare the older [[compliment sandwich]].)

* [[MisinformationFactoid]]

* [[Post-Illusory truth politicseffect]]

* [[SerialPost-positiontruth effectpolitics]]