Government’s discourse around ULEZ has Laura wondering how to get cyclists’ argument across
OPINION: THE GOLDEN AGE OF CYCLING?
I flinched a little when I heard the words, “So, is the ULEZ as bad as the newspapers make out?”. I was in Somerset visiting family when, in a cafe over breakfast, a neighbour of my mum’s asked the question about London’s newly-expanded Ultra Low Emissions Zone. I was expecting a bit of an argument. To his credit, though, the neighbour was ultimately receptive to the idea that parts of the media had given him the wrong end of the stick. Like all things, I said, it’s rarely as simple as newspaper reports suggest – and while a small proportion of people with the dirtiest vehicles will undoubtedly lose out from the emissions-based charges, far more people will benefit from the resulting cleaner air.
This conversation took place before the Prime Minister and his cabinet jumped on the post-Uxbridge by-election bandwagon, calling such measures ‘anti-motorist’. Then followed a promised review of things designed to make our roads safer for walking and cycling, like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and 20mph zones. While debate is healthy, the language flying around from ministers worryingly echoed internet conspiracies, even throwing doubt over well-respected academics’ work.
Frustrations in my professional circles rose, as councils faced growing levels of fake news, echoed by constituents, surrounding such measures. While daunting on the face of it, we can and should talk about these topics with those around us – but they need to be done in the right context, and with the right people.
Shayoni Lynn, the founder of Lynn Global, which uses behavioural science to help companies counter falsehoods, tells me that it’s important to distinguish between disinformation, the deliberate spreading of untruths, and misinformation, which is someone unwittingly sharing something that isn’t true. Friends and family sharing questionable articles or posts are most likely doing the latter, and it’s important to understand this when engaging with them.
With disinformation we need, she says, to “debunk carefully, not to give undue prominence to a lie – let’s start and end by emphasising the facts”. Mis- and disinformation are propelled by algorithms on social media. She adds disinformation campaigns can be well-organised and targeted and sometimes it’s best not to engage at all, because interaction plays into social media algorithms, helping them spread the disinformation to more people. “This is being orchestrat
