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A significant challenge to democracy and trust is emerging in 2024 globally and nationally. With 49% of the worlds population heading to the voting polls, its the biggest election year in history.

Here in Australia, the Northern Terririty, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland head to state-election booths, and Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have local government elections. The latter notably represents 52% of all Australian councils. Millions of people will be deciding what kind of future they want and who they can trust.

But escalating polarisation, mistrust, vigilantism, misinformation and digital manipulation is a dangerous melting pot that threatens democracy. As mayor of SAs most populated local council, I have witnessed first-hand how these melting pots seek to destabilise and pervert communities, electorates and commerce.

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Report,A collision of trust, innovation, and politics, shows that 63% of government leaders are not trusted to tell the truth and are rated as purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.

This has significant implications when people are going to the polling booths. Essentially, 2024 will be a global referendum on trust.

Our democratic practices need to keep up with the speed of AI, social media algorithms, and disruptive bots. And even speaking for myself, navigating cyber security is a real challenge.

The juncture of truth, facts & trust

Over the past decade, truth has been a casualty of discourse and now, in a post-truth world, the bold and the brazen are seemingly allergic to facts.

As Maria Ressa Noble Peace Laureate and global democracy advocate, said:

If you dont have facts, you cant have truth. Without truth, you cant have trust. Without these three, we have no shared reality. We cannot attempt to solve any problem. You cant have democracy if you dont have integrity of facts.

Without facts, fear is the fuel that divides and polarises voters. But there are hopeful divides emerging. People who can discern fact from fiction; empathy and kindness from cruelty and greed and the digitally literate and illiterate.

Moises Naim in his book The Revenge of Power How Autocrats are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century sums up the three dangers of our times as being polarisation, populism and post-truth.

The destructive power and explosion of social media bots, fake news and deep fake identities disrupting democracy and fuelling polarisation is tacit. The Edelman Barometer Report further found that 64% of Australians consider governments as lacking competence in regulating these kinds of emerging technologies.

The lack of trust in government on this front puts democracy further at risk because innovation is vital for a sustainable and flourishing future. Taking this a step further, there is evidence that resistance to innovation is political.

In Australia, this divide sits at 37% on the right and 14% on the left. This is second only to the US in exhibiting greater resistance to innovation from the right to the left. Culture and identity politics are on the ballot paper.

It was predicted in the 2023 Edelman Trust Report that Australia will become further polarised due to forces weakening our social fabric and the creation of increased divisions. This certainly played out in the Voice to Parliament referendum.

This clearly demonstrates the fragility of our shared identity real and perceived unfairness in our systems. It spotlights a lack of confidence in what might lie ahead economically, which leads to further pessimism and low national self-esteem.

In his inaugural presidential address, Abraham Lincoln called on our better angels from the graves of patriots and history to unite a nation. Maybe we should take some advice from the past and call upon all of those who gave their all to build up trust in democracy and who must be at risk of turning in their graves this year.

If the platforms on which information is being shared cant be trusted, the voices who are seeking election cant be trusted. Nor can regulatory bodies be trusted by default to keep up with technologies.

Responding to the challenge

How we build trust and hope into our institutional responses to fear, fake news and straight-out lies is far more than a communication or marketing challenge.

It runs deep into the bedrock of what it means to be human. We need to feel connected and heard; that we belong and that we count.

The challenge for all elected members is how to keep the system levers and conversations buoyant with civility and compassion. It means building safe places for those conversations to take place and holding each other to account for the decisions made.

And it means ensuring the resources and infrastructure are in place to bring the outcomes as intended. Keeping a tone of respect is central.

Inoculating against othering is critical in strengthening democracy. Othering can be a real challenge on the days when disruptions and distractions seek to derail and threaten. This has been witnessed personally at state and local levels to undermine confidence.

I have had my share of death threats, hacks, clones, electoral corruption and disruption. The scale of my experience, whilst localised, is a tiny window into what the world has seen and will further witness in elections and democracy this year.

We must rigorously encourage fact-checking at every data point and communicate what is and isnt acceptable with respect. Holding up truth to scrutiny is essential to confront polarisation at all levels.

Community engagement and civil discourse are booster shots for democracy. Similarly as are keeping the facts in front of people, showing up with values of empathy, fairness and hearing all voices. We must encourage the quieter to contribute not just the most vocal.

We need to learn how to disagree, build arguments and persuade constructively.

Two-time world champion debater Bo Seo, at the 2023 Asian Pacific Cities Summit shared that to win a debate and be heard, start by listening first to uncover what is at the root of your opponents argument. We must foster respectful debating skills in our educational institutions and boardrooms.

We also need truth in political advertising laws. Recent research by The Australian Institute (Overwhelming support for truth in political advertising laws following the referendum) found 9 out of 10 Australians would support this democratic innovation.

How it pans out

One of the tests of 2024 will not only be the results of all the elections but also the number of people who actually go out to vote. The global problem is how to shake inertia to action where voting is not compulsory.

Other countries could learn from Australias voting laws. Former prime minister Julia Gillard has been a staunch advocate of compulsory voting because it has helped Australia remain out of the hands of small highly motivated minorities.

By the end of 2024 we will know how well we have done in keeping the democracy scales balanced, and if voters have been enabled by our institutions, governments, and technologies to find the truths, stay in relationship with different points of view and be able to resist three-word slogans.

Democracy and trust are facing watershed times. How it pans out is yet to be decided.

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Democracy & trust face a global tipping point in 2024 - The Mandarin