A robust democracy can not exist in a vacuum. It requires an informed citizenry.
Our core principles include a constitutional right to public information.
This must be provided and safeguarded in at least two ways:
First, education. Every citizen, worldwide, must be educated to a basic standard. Details of curriculum are beyond the scope of this paper, but the need is clear. Thoughtful proposals for efficiently providing education to everyone globally, including those with the least access, have been developed elsewhere.
Second, news. Since the dawn of democracy, news has been used repeatedly to sway election outcomes. The impact of Russian “fake news” on the 2016 US presidential election is just the latest example.
A healthy democracy depends on the voting public receiving balanced and accurate information on matters of public importance. The US Supreme Court has recognized this, saying unanimously that the First Amendment in the US Constitution includes a public right to balanced information. This principle must be revived and expanded, to guarantee a right to balanced and accurate information for everyone, worldwide, on public matters.