In war, truth is the FIRST CASUALTY

?

Today, we live in a world plagued by a vicious circle of mistrust, fuelled primarily by the government and the media for their?political and commercial gains?through disinformation and divisive narratives. It is often said that the truth is the first victim of all wars, and this can happen?both - before and after the war - resulting in a new world order or a new set of?geopolitical equations. The Russia-Ukraine crisis, which has clearly escalated into an all-out war, is no exception to this adage, but who was the first to think of this adage?

One can attribute the maxim "Truth is the first victim in all wars" to ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus around 550 BC, or Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1758, or US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson in 1918, or anyone else, but the statement is as relevant today as it was then, and still holds true in the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The truth has been the first victim in both the World Wars, the Cold War, and most recently, in humanity's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. And, when a war breaks out, propaganda and false narratives are among the first weapons deployed, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict is again no exception there. You hear different sides to the story, with some asserting that Russia is justified in attacking Ukraine because the latter originally belonged to Russia. While others can only lament over Ukrainians’ right to live a full life and not die with bullets in?their 20s.

When I speak to different people in an attempt to find a precise and reliable truth, or at least a closer-to-truth answer about who is right and who is wrong, or who is subjective and who is objective about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, I usually end up amassing?more information but becoming more confused. To make matters worse, there are blatant lies, premeditated fake news, and purposeful misinformation floating all over?social media. The war is happening somewhere in Russia-Ukraine border areas, but the vibrations of the bombs are clearly felt in India with news channels celebrating the jump of their TRPs due to war stories. A few days back it was Afghanistan and now they have got Ukraine. Let's just say they have got some new topics for the time being other than Muslims, Pakistan, and North Korea. With their helpless nature of siding with either of the side – the Right or the Left – or the East or the West – the traditional media or the news outlets we follow is feeding us the same misinformation well-coated with a hue of truthfulness. And, thanks to the unstoppable speed and intensity of social media and hashtag trends,?disinformation reaches us faster and becomes more pervasive than the truth itself, testing a person's patience in seeking the truth and then impairing his reasoning abilities to understand and process that truth with a sane mind.

Now something about the Distrust: Edelman Trust Barometer 2022

Talking of misinformation, I am reminded of the latest Edelman Trust Barometer 2022 that was published early this year. As per the report, distrust has become the ‘social default’ of the global mindset as concerns of economic disparities, climate change, and misinformation grow. According to the survey of over 36,000 people in 28 countries, trust in all public institutions has declined since May 2020, most likely due to governments' inability to deal with Covid-19 in a timely manner and prevent the huge loss of lives and employments, I suppose. In fact, the two institutions – the governments and the media – have become the biggest losers of public trust due to their vicious disinformation and divisive narratives for exploiting their political and commercial gains. Nearly 1 out of 2 respondents view government (48%) and media (46%) as divisive forces in society today.

There is a ray of hope!

It is possible to break the cycle of distrust and rebuild public trust by providing the people with factual information and evidence of progress, the report highlights. The research also noted that business leaders can drive change and promote good governance across the globe since people have more faith in them than political leaders. The world is rapidly becoming more interconnected through digital media even if our political?leaders are bent on building fences and walls between people and countries.

It's probably past time for corporations to place societal responsibility at the core of their business. How long, after all, would business leaders stay quiet while countless lives, as well as businesses and job opportunities, are lost every day due to geopolitical struggles? No Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals, as defined by the United Nations, will be met unless business leaders speak out against the?political leaders' misdoings and work to improve governance and?democracy. In fact, businesses now have an opportunity to make a difference because nearly 60% of employees polled wanted their CEOs and business leaders to speak out on critical issues that concern them, and 80% wanted their CEOs to be personally visible when engaging in public policy. In fact, business leaders and employers have emerged as the winner of Edelman Trust Barometer 2022 as 77% of employees surveyed stated that they trust their employers more than anyone else, and they expect their business leaders and CEOs to be the "face of change" rather than a political leader.

A Little Truth About Why Russia-Ukraine War Is About Business

Russia supplies roughly one-quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union (EU) and approximately 80% of those exports pass through pipelines across Ukrainian territory before arriving in the EU. In such a situation, Russia would obviously want to control its supply, price, distribution, and so on, especially when the EU aspires to be net-zero by a specific deadline that’s way sooner than other countries of the world. In fact, the Russia-Ukraine war is an outstanding example of how business disputes between the Ukrainian oil and gas major?Naftohaz Ukrayiny and the Russian gas supplier Gazprom over natural gas supplies, prices, and debts can escalate into transnational political conflict (now a war) involving political leaders from multiple nations. Of course, the truth differs for everyone because my truth differs from your truth that differs from their truth, and we eventually become scammed by our own personal prejudices and accept the truth we would like to be true, even if it is not or is only partially true.

I sometimes wonder why the common people have to pay the price for the strongest countries' wildest fantasies to become world masters by?resetting the world order through lies and misinformation, false?rhetoric, genocides and wars. In these troubled times?when the world's strongest economies are clearly attempting to reset the world order, ordinary people are made to pay the price?whether it's the?lives lost in a war zone or rising inflation and unemployment across the globe. This is the partial truth of how business disagreements between Russia and Ukraine could turn into a full-scale military war. That’s why

“Truth is the first victim in all the wars.”