Truth In Politics
The day began, like most days did, with a press release. The Shadow Minister for the Economy always started the day early, and he liked to see his face on TV. The current economic turmoil meant that he caught more than his fair share of the limelight.
“The government’s plan is idiotic!” he yelled at the camera.
“When we were in power, the unemployment rate was five per cent lower, and the economy was growing fast.”
The shadow minister had always been popular with the press, but more for his vitriol than his policy. He normally enjoyed question time, but that was about to change.
A reporter with a laptop stood.
“You say unemployment was five per cent lower, but the Bureau of Statistics recorded it at approximately the same, taking population growth into account,” she said, “so do you disagree with the Bureau?”
The Bureau was, of course, completely right. Anyone with an internet connection, a lot of spare time and a bit of training in statistics could prove that for themselves.
“The economy grew-” said the minster
“-at the same speed, according to the Bureau,” answered the journalist.
“We invested more money in infrastructure,” tried the shadow minister again, but the reporter wasn’t having any of it.
“This government has increased the infrastructure budged by ten per cent in the last two years,” she said.
The confrontation was all over the news that day, and the replays did not make the shadow minster look good.
“Who was that awful woman, and how did she know what I was going to say? She must have done a whole pile of homework to be able to challenge me like that!” complained the shadow minster to his hard-working assistant, Ti.
Ti looked up from his own laptop guiltily. He had been checking the internet to see if the journalist was right.
“A little bit of hyperbole is what politics is all about,” continued the shadow minster unhappily.
Except the journalist didn’t think so. She began popping up everywhere, fact checking politicians in real time during their press conferences and speeches. Politics suddenly became a lot more engrossing as the truth became more obvious.
“I never took a donation that influenced my voting record,” declared a backbencher.
“The Royal Casino Group donated seventy thousand dollars to your last campaign, and you recently voted for them to be exempt from an environmental levy,” she had challenged him.
“We have better policies for hospitals-”
“-but longer waiting times.”
“Better regulation of lobbyists-”
“-more time spent with lobbyists than ever.”
Ti, like many others, spent a weekend fact checking the fact checker. Her work was meticulous. The game of politics began to change: the smarter politicians resorted to telling the truth, which did not always reflect well on them. However, it was worse for those who continued trying to push the old half-truths and blatant lies. The journalist was making a serious splash in politics, but Ti couldn’t work out how she could be working so fast and carefully.
Finally, Ti decided to call her. She answered the video call looking remarkably relaxed for someone who should have been exhausted.
“How on earth are you doing all this? It took me hours to find the stuff you found in seconds,” he said to her.
“Ah, I did it all with a little help from a few friends on the net. A person called Al Ice developed a new app called the TruthSearch. Al is brilliant, just brilliant. I have never met him or her, but she or he got in contact with me after I covered a story about the new A.I. legislation. Al wants to change the world by making the truth more obvious. Most of the information is publicly available but concealed behind a smokescreen of red tape. Some of it is a bit more… private. The app is still in beta, but it will be out soon. So, tell me a lie.”
“I am thirty years old,” he said, wondering what she meant by private.
The journalist appeared to look at her screen for a second, and then said:
“Not true. Your Facebook says you are one hundred and twenty three, while your birth record says you are twenty five.”
“Huh, OK. My favourite colour is green,” said Ti.
“That’s true, at least according to your ’book. You should really think about changing your privacy settings, although I see you are single-”
The shadow minster burst into Ti’s office, and Ti only just had time to turn his screen off.
“I need you to work this weekend,” said the shadow minster impatiently.
“I did last weekend, and the one before. Can’t Jen do it?” suggested Ti, knowing that it was a futile suggestion. Jen was the shadow minster’s second aide, but also his favourite niece.
“It’s Jen’s sister’s birthday, and she can’t miss it. I pay you more than Jen, so I expect more from you!”
“But-” protested Ti to the shadow minster’s back.
He turned his screen back on, and was surprised to see the journalist still there.
“Sorry,” said Ti, but she waved his apology away and pointed at the bottom of the screen.
Ti saw a window labelled TruthSearch. He didn’t recognise it, but he knew what it was. He read the sentences and number displayed in the window.
“Jen doesn’t have a sister!” he said angrily.
“And she gets paid more than you,” said the journalist.
Ti was furious, but not completely surprised.
“So... any plans for the weekend, then?” the journalist asked with a wink.