“Trust in government is related to higher levels of citizen cooperation and voluntary compliance.” Thus begins a downloadable mini-guide published by social scientists at MIT. Written for an audience with a sixth grade education, the guide hopes to induce readers to believe it when an empowered expert says “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

The best way to increase trust, and thereby compliance with government mandates, is through effective media messaging. But how can policy planners know when carefully crafted narratives delivered by trusted media allies are working? By using MIT GOV/LAB’s breakthrough new Trust-o-Mometer, which scientifically measures trust (p<.01).

Thousands of hours of research by hundreds of scholars supported by government grants have gone into perfecting the Trust-o-Mometer. You know you can trust the results because this handy new mini-guide includes so many references to peer reviewed research papers that it looks just like real science.

Get with the program and don’t be a trust denier! Now that they’ve lost control of Twitter and can’t block misinformation casting doubt on the wisdom of sanctioned experts, how can social engineers working in partnership with government build a better world if you don’t believe a word they say?