The Integrity Imperative: Expanding Mission in a Time of Civic Crisis
People demonstrate against the California National Guard in Los Angeles on June 9. A recent Washington Post poll traces the widening rift between Americans over the use of military force against civilians, the normalization of extreme immigration crackdowns, and the way these once-fringe authoritarian tactics are now openly endorsed by large segments of the public. What will it mean for democracy? Photo by Karla Gachet / For The Washington Post
The Integrity Project
A recent Washington Post interactive feature laid bare a concerning portrait of where America may be headed—or, perhaps where we already are. The narrative traces the widening rift among Americans over the potential use of military force against civilians, the normalization of extreme immigration crackdowns—including of non-criminals—and the way these tactics which not so long ago would have been painted as authoritarian, but are more and more openly endorsed by large segments of the public. Through interviews, polls, and on-the-ground reporting, the article captures a dangerous transformation: the erosion of norms previously seen as important to constitutional integrity not through a single cataclysmic event, but through slow, sustained acclimation to a new political reality.
The public is now so immersed in conflicting narratives, so desensitized by years of disinformation and tribal propaganda, that core constitutional protections are now up for grabs. We are seeing a chilling glimpse of what happens when the institutions constitutionally designed to strengthen and protect democratic society have been hollowed out and repurposed as tools of division, distraction, and domination.
What’s happening? Profound civic disorientation. The shared public square that once allowed Americans to argue in good faith across lines of difference has been fragmented by algorithmic sorting, captured media outlets, manufactured outrage, and systemic disinformation. A meaningful portion of the population now supports illiberal policies—not because they are misinformed in the traditional sense, but because they have been relentlessly conditioned to distrust truth, embrace grievance, and surrender complexity for the false clarity of nationalist and nativist narratives.
This isn’t just a messaging crisis. It is a crisis of democratic integrity—a breakdown in the systems, norms, and shared truths that underpin American public life. This collapse is happening right in front of our eyes, following years of media consolidation, profit-driven news cycles, political intimidation, bad-faith actors laundering lies through seemingly legitimate channels, and the rise of platforms that reward outrage over accuracy.
At The Integrity Project, we have long focused on the corrosive effects of misinformation and disinformation. But today, that work must broaden to meet the moment. We are expanding our mission to examine the full architecture of civic manipulation: how corrupted communication ecosystems—captured by financial interests, exploited by political extremists, and shaped by systemic inequities—have been weaponized to erode civic trust, enable power driven ideologies, and fracture the American polity into misunderstood realities.
This is a natural evolution of our purpose in response to the dangers of radicalization relative to the safeties that should be ensured by constitutional protections. We are not becoming partisan; we are becoming clearer and more focused. And this is, above all, about clarity—moral clarity. To stand against authoritarianism, white nationalism, institutional corruption, and the systematic distortion of public discourse is not mission creep. It is mission fulfillment.
In our opinion, this a principled, evidence-based, and apolitical stance. It is not a condemnation of any political party. The fact that today, similar ideological movements, influencers, and political factions appear consistently in support of the degradation of civic norms is not bias—it is pattern recognition. If some find that uncomfortable or asymmetrical, they are invited to re-examine the historical record.
The Washington Post article is not just reporting. It is a warning. It captures the stakes of this moment with disturbing clarity. If we do not act now—if we do not challenge the mechanisms of disinformation, propaganda, and captured communication head-on—then we risk failing in the democratic experiment itself.
We got here through deliberate campaigns of disinformation, the capture and erosion of trusted media, a culture of political retribution and grift, unchecked conflicts of interest, the rise of tribal and white nationalist narratives, and now, accelerating institutional breakdown. This moment demands more than analysis. It demands action.
Howard Zinn famously wrote, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” We agree. Taking on this fight is not an act of partisanship. It is an act of civic devotion and love for country. The color of the word “patriot” has taken on a strange pallor these days through its contextual misuse. To us, being a patriot means ensuring future generations inherit a society where truth still matters, where power is held accountable, and where democracy remains something more than a slogan.
Republics don’t plan on failing. But they do. History has shown us, time and again, that it is not always the zealots who usher in their demise—it is in the fertile soil of silence, indifference, and complacency where autocracy takes root and thrives.
READ THE DETAILS OF THE WASHINGTON POST POLL
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