Do we actually live in a great democracy? Why is it acceptable for both presidential candidates to not directly answer questions? Is it really impossible to check falsehoods in real time?
Better debates are possible.
Questions can be displayed in large, bright letters above each debater for everyone to see. This should make it much harder for a politician to change the topic.
We have millions of viewers with online search ability. Crowd-sourcing fact checks would be much better than interpretations from one-sided podcasters or a small group of usually biased, well-groomed news readers. At the end of the debate, a person presenting misinformation could be given a chance to respond to discovered contradictions.
Aren’t we all better off with the truth?
Robert Sullivan
Oak Park