Trust, but Verify.

“Trust, but verify.”

This Russian proverb was made famous during the 1980s when Ronald Reagan used it to describe the process of ensuring compliance with mutual nuclear disarmament by the USSR and the United States.

The planet's safety relied on transparency between two powerful and apprehensive nations, relying on both disclosures of information and verifiable evidence to develop trust.

Today, the issues commanding America’s attention look different than nuclear war. Economic inequality, environmental damage, unaffordable housing, healthcare, and education are the new faces of “mutually assured destruction.”

Transparency is still a potent antidote to these issues, perhaps now more than ever.

Individuals equipped with reliable information about the causes of social and economic obstacles can begin necessary steps toward a brighter future. Even with the accelerated rate of information being created, there has not been a proportionate rise in transparency.

As misinformation becomes more prevalent and corruption is routinely discovered in organizations worldwide, trust is in short supply. According to a Pew Research Center Study, Americans are less trusting of institutions than ever.

The majority believe that the government and the news withhold important information that they deserve to have. This absence of transparency has driven populism, divisiveness, and the loss of faith in historically credible institutions has threatened public services.

If trust is to be restored, it begins with transparency.

More than 30 years since Reagan popularized “trust, but verify,” its importance has not changed. Citizens and institutions need to trust one another; building trust requires verification.

The first step towards achieving greater transparency is defining new guidelines on determining the accuracy of information. Standards for claims and evidence should be proposed, refined, and collectively agreed upon so that all individuals and organizations can hold each other accountable to the truth.

These guidelines should be created to ensure they are free from private interests and the risk of bias or corruption.

Businesses, governments, and institutions are at an existential crossroads. As their credibility erodes, they must take the steps necessary to provide transparency, or they will meet a Darwinian fate.

This transition to the Era of Transparency has already begun.

I propose that every leader ask themselves a simple question: “Is this transformation going to happen to me, or because of me?” Join the movement towards trust through commercial transparency and talk with us at The Provenance Chain Network.