Only critical thinking
can save democracy

Eliot Higgins, a prominent voice on the threats facing democracy in the digital age

By Andrew Burlone

June 13, 2025

Eliot Higgins is the founder of Bellingcat, an internationally recognized investigative collective known for pioneering the use of open-source intelligence to uncover the truth in complex global events.

Higgins has an unwavering commitment to transparency and rigorous verification. His unique approach, empowering ordinary individuals to challenge misinformation, reshaping how journalists and the public engage with digital evidence, makes him a pivotal figure in the global effort to defend truth and accountability in the digital era.

We built 20th-century democracies on the assumption that truth could be verified, public discourse could be deliberated, and those in power could be held accountable.

Higgins crafted a sophisticated framework for interpreting the complex threats confronting democratic societies and identifying effective responses. His insights are especially timely as nations worldwide grapple with persistent disinformation, the proliferation of conspiracy theories, and growing mistrust in institutions. He believes democracy fundamentally depends on a shared reality, open debate, and accountability, pillars now threatened by disinformation, fractured discourse, and narrative manipulation.

He notes that the conditions undermining democracy in the US are present in many other countries, making this a global challenge. Higgins stresses the need for democratic oversight of information systems, warning against leaving decisions about truth and disinformation solely to tech companies or unaccountable actors. Verification is not just about fact-checking, but building scientific, journalistic, and political processes that allow societies to seek and agree on shared truths.

His analysis focuses on how disinformation, fractured discourse and the manipulation of narratives undermine democratic institutions and the very idea of shared reality. Higgins sees democracy as fundamentally dependent on shared reality, open debate, and accountability, and disordered discourse, amplified by technology, threatens these pillars. The way forward, he argues, lies in education, transparency, and a renewed commitment to truth and inclusion.

‘Higgins stresses the need for democratic oversight of information systems, warning against leaving decisions about truth and disinformation solely to tech companies or unaccountable actors.’

At the 2025 Cambridge Disinformation Summit, Higgins distilled democracy’s foundations into three essential principles: verification, deliberation, and accountability. For Higgins, verification is about establishing truth, not just fact-checking, but creating systems that allow society to agree on reality. Deliberation, in his view, means fostering inclusive, open discussion where all voices help shape consensus. And accountability, he insists, ensures that decisions can be reviewed and failures addressed through transparent mechanisms.

Disordered discourse
and institutional capture

The threat, Higgins argues, is that what he calls “disordered discourse” leads to a regressive democracy. He has developed a framework to explain how democracy is eroded when misinformation, conspiracy theories, and performative outrage replace truth, reasoned debate, and genuine accountability. He warns that the modern information environment, shaped by social media, algorithmic amplification, and declining trust in institutions, undermines the three ideals.

According to Higgins, verification turns into distortion as information is twisted to fit group narratives. Deliberation devolves into division, with discourse fracturing into polarized camps and dissenters attacked or excluded. And accountability, he says, becomes deflection, where failures are blamed on external enemies and responsibility is avoided.

Institutions, including the media, government, and other bodies, Higgins argues, can become “captured” by disordered discourse. When this occurs, these organizations stop seeking truth and instead amplify narratives that serve their own or their audience’s interests, regardless of factual accuracy. This dynamic can pressure even those who know better to comply with or spread falsehoods, for fear of becoming targets themselves.

Higgins contends that this leads to regressive democracy: while the forms of democracy remain, their substance is hollowed out, paving the way for authoritarianism. He points to Turkey and Hungary as examples and warns that even established democracies like the US are not immune.

‘… this leads to regressive democracy: while the forms of democracy remain, their substance is hollowed out, paving the way for authoritarianism.’

“What we’re witnessing in America is what happens when disordered discourse captures a political party, then the state itself… Now, with its grip on institutions, disordered discourse isn’t just shaping politics—it has overtaken those in power, who now govern as if manufactured narratives were reality, eroding the state and democracy itself from within.”

From progressive to regressive

Higgins contrasts progressive democracy, which moves toward the ideals of verification, deliberation, and accountability, with regressive democracy, where those principles are replaced by distortion, division, and deflection. He explains that in regressive democracies, truth becomes subjective, debate devolves into tribal conflict, and accountability is replaced by blame-shifting. Recent U.S. politics is a clear example where institutional behaviour is increasingly dictated by manufactured narratives rather than genuine policy or problem-solving.

Technology, Higgins warns, is accelerating the spread of disinformation and fragmenting shared reality through social media algorithms and generative AI. These algorithms radicalize users by reinforcing their biases with curated content, while AI-generated material enables individuals to deny objective truths and retreat into personalized information bubbles. He argues this dynamic is “massively damaging to democracy,” as it erodes social cohesion and institutional trust by allowing people to construct their own realities and dismiss inconvenient facts.

Education, critical thinking
and open-source Investigation

Eliot Higgins places his hope in empowering the next generation by making critical thinking and open-source investigation techniques central to education, arguing that these skills should be integrated across all subjects rather than treated as optional extras. He believes this approach will foster positive freedom by enabling citizens to participate meaningfully in democratic processes and build resilience against disinformation.

‘What we’re witnessing in America is what happens when disordered discourse captures a political party, then the state itself.’

Higgins argues that equipping the public, especially young people, with the skills to critically evaluate information and constructively participate in online communities is essential for a resilient democracy. Open-source investigation, transparency, and digital literacy are identified as vital tools for countering polarization and the spread of conspiracy theories. Careful verification of digital evidence and collaborative approaches can demonstrate how technology, when harnessed responsibly, has the potential to strengthen rather than undermine democratic values.

Eliot Higgins’s perspective on democracy is both a warning and a call to action. He argues that the health of democracy depends on our ability to restore verification, deliberation, and accountability in the information age—and that this requires critical thinking, education, and renewed democratic engagement at every level. As Higgins puts it, “Only critical thinking can save democracy.”

Feature image:  Eliot Higgins – Courtesy of Bellingcat

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Andrew Burlone, co-founder of WestmountMag.ca, began his media journey at NOUS magazine. Subsequently, he launched Visionnaires, holding the position of creative director for over 30 years. Andrew is passionate about culture and politics, with a keen interest in visual arts and architecture.