"Recombobulating" to bring expert voices to you

You know how, after going through airport security, you have to stop and put your shoes back on? At Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport, the space where people do that is called the Recombobulation Area.

The former airport director borrowed from the term "discombobulation" – a state of confusion or discomfort – to coin "recombobulation," then named the area accordingly to make people smile as they exit security. I smiled when I heard about this from a friend.

Beyond being simply cool, these words are fitting references to the disarray we experience as we hustle to put electronics back in their assigned pockets and, if you're me, put sunglasses back on our heads.

They also pretty aptly describe what we as humans are experiencing in the current moment.

Brands, governmental agencies on all levels, nonprofits, leaders, communities, neighbors, international entities – all are recombobulating to address the unprecedented changes that began streaming from the U.S. government on January 6, 2025. Confusion, discomfort and disarray are the norm for many; for those who've lost jobs and financial security, the feelings are of course more extreme.

At Truth in Common, our time in the Recombobulation Area yielded some new programming, from coaching public health students to bringing key voices to you, online. Here's how we're meeting the moment.

Join us for our 2025 speaker series

Our new speaker series, Communicating at a Time of Instability, offers access to experts in disinformation and social division who can help us navigate current realities, from casual conversations to high-risk situations.

Join us! We kick things off in two weeks:

• March 27, noon-1 EST: Dave Fleet, Global Head of Digital Crisis at Edelman. will share why Edelman stood up a Counter Disinformation Unit in 2024, how false narratives are affecting brands around the world and what they're doing about it. Bring your questions as we dive into the realities of information manipulation in 2025. Register here – this talk is just around the corner!

It's about time we reconvened and we'd love to see you. We've had Dave speak before – whatever your background you'll be fascinated by what he has to say. All talks will take place via Zoom.

Future speakers (each event has its own registration process, watch email and Instagram for links);

• April 24, noon-1 EST: Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations and two iconic U.S.-based social movements: Moveon.org and MomsRising.
• June 26, noon-1 EST: Andy Norman, PhD, author and founder of the Cognitive Immunity Research Collaborative at Carnegie Mellon University

Processing at the speed of change

Our current situation requires shifts in how we process the news. I for one went from occasionally using Instagram to curating a range of quality news sources there and engaging with their content, so I can scroll and see a variety of headlines quickly.

It's been tough to avoid getting derailed. For us in DC, a casual conversation in the dog park can lead to intense worry about things like the U.S. stopping production of the only vaccine for the deadly Marburg virus, despite two recent outbreaks in Africa. This really happened, while we watched our dogs play.

Our DC community faces the possibility that our budget will be defunded by $1 billion due to provisions in the continuing resolution. Efforts to exert complete control over DC and its residents have been justified by false claims about crime. In fact, violent crime in DC is at a 30-year low. An alternative spending proposal is on the table; we'll see.

I won't get into the fury we're feeling at this development. Here's an honest and fact-based take from my Facebook feed if you're interested.

There are also great moments that help you pick yourself up. Yesterday it was a terrific conversation with a smart and enthusiastic library leader in Pennsylvania. The day before it was crafting a strategic plan for some folks dedicated to investigative reporting and exposing corruption. Last week it was being invited to propose a major statewide project that – if we're lucky – might even be funded. The see-saw effect is dizzying, but we're grateful not to be stuck on the downside, in the dirt, for good.

Maybe we should all think of ourselves as children riding a see-saw – the little shocks on their faces when they descend quickly or hit the ground, and the strength they use to push themselves back up.

What we're reading

What aren't we reading?

• Vaccine hesitancy in west Texas is contributing to a significant measles outbreak there, with two fatalities to date. This NPR and Throughline piece traces the hesitancy to now-infamous faulty research that connected the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism that was published in The Lancet in 1998 and wasn't retracted till 12 years later. (The history behind an enduring public health falsehood — that vaccines cause autism, NPR, March 5).
• Legitimate news sites are being impersonated at alarming rates, with the BBC, Bellingcat, CNN, and USA Today among the most copied, NewsGuard found (Bad Actors Fake Being Real News Outlets at Alarming Rate, NewsGuard, March 10).
• DOGE staff deleted the top five biggest savings claims on their leaderboard because they were all inaccurate (DOGE Secretly Changes Its Website After Being Caught in Huge Lies, The New Republic, February 25).
• Meta is offering bonuses to creators who get significant engagement on their posts, creating an incentive for false and sensational claims like this one: "BREAKING — ICE is allegedly offering $750 per illegal immigrant that you turn in through their tip form," ProPublica tell us (As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content, ProPublica, February 24).