The Four-Way Test is an ethical guide for Rotarians aimed at improving personal and professional relationships through truthfulness. It emphasizes the importance of truth, fairness, goodwill, and benefits for all, while also addressing the challenges posed by emotional biases and misinformation. The Pro-Truth Movement and its pledge seek to foster accurate information sharing and foster community trust, encouraging leaders to commit to truthfulness.

2. The Four-Way Test
The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and
nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to
use for their personal and professional
relationships. The test has been translated
into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians
recite it at club meetings:

3. Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and
BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all
concerned?

5. We value truth
telling, but
sometimes it’s hard.
Why?

6. Research suggests our
emotions and intuitions
focus on protecting our
worldview and personal
identity rather than
updating our beliefs based
on the most accurate
information.

7. Oxford Dictionary 2016 word of the year: post-truth
“circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public
opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

9. “Tragedy of the Commons.”
A well-known tragedy of the commons is pollution: we all gain from clean air and
water, but some individual polluters gain more, at least in the short term, by
polluting the environment, harming all of us.
Similarly, we all benefit from a society where we can trust each other to tell the
truth, but some individuals gain more, in the short term, by abusing this trust and
polluting the truth.
Fortunately, the environmental movement of the 1970s has now resulted in a
situation where many people started recycling and our society passed
environmental legislation.
In the same way, we can change individual behavior and public policy alike to be
more oriented toward the truth through the Pro-Truth Movement, and the
Pro-Truth Pledge is one aspect of this movement to help fight deception.

10. What if we could readjust and practice
rational thinking and decision making?

11. What does it really mean
to tell the truth?

12. SHARE THE TRUTH
Sacrifice
Balance
Clarify
Source
Verify

13. HONOR THE TRUTH
Acknowledge
Retract
Defend
Align

14. ENCOURAGE THE TRUTH
Request Retractions
Challenge
Respect Expertise
Celebrate Updating

15. How might we benefit if our community
leaders committed to being truthful?

16. Truth is a value
that has the
power to include
diverse
populations and
provide an
opportunity for
collaboration.
That is the future
we imagine.

17. The Pro-Truth Pledge, created by a group of behavioral
scientists, and led by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, combines all of
these strategies. By doing so, it provides a tool that
motivates all who take it to share accurate information and
avoid sharing misinformation.

18. I Pledge to
Share, Honor,
and
Encourage
The Truth

19. Thank you for all you do and the example you set
as individuals, parents, business and community
leaders.