“Long before it became the biggest collection of knowledge in the history of the world, Wikipedia had to overcome its greatest challenge: getting strangers on the Internet to trust each other. Trust is a living thing that can and must be cultivated.
“I believe that the crisis in trust is leading to a crisis in politics, the rise of authoritarianism, the rise of anti-science and anti-reason sentiments in society. I hope to show a new path,” the London-based internet entrepreneur said in a statement.
The 58-year-old, widely recognised as the creator of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation, was among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2006.
According to the publisher, in today’s ‘post-truth’ world — where the internet is flooded with misinformation and facts are often distorted — Wales reminds readers of the need to confront the core issue: “without trust, we have no knowledge. And without knowledge, we can’t fight back.” “I cannot think of any person better suited than Jimmy Wales to write a book on the importance of trust to our world. All around us we are witnessing the consequences of our diminishing trust in institutions, politics, the media and each other. With ‘The Seven Rules of Trust’, Wales has written an essential guide that shows us why trust is so valuable and how to rebuild it,” said Alexis Kirschbaum, head of Bloomsbury Trade. PTI MG RB RB RB
