Has Wales found the solution to autocracy?

Richard Symons

There are forty two democracies backsliding into autocracy today – nearly four times more than two decades ago¹.

Theories on why this is happening are as plentiful as protests. But few body politics have connected the dots between facts and autocracy.

“Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy”. Professor Maria Ressa, Nobel Laureate

But Wales may have found the answer with a quietly radical legal solution; the right to challenge political statements of fact.

“globally pioneering – an important breakthrough for the health of democracy.”

​Kevin Casas-Zamora, CEO, International Institute for Democracy & EA

To understand the significance of what Wales is doing, it helps to first understand how autocrats gain power by exploiting truth itself.

How Autocrats Gain Power by Lying (and Lying Again)

The instinctive response to a lie is to disprove it with facts. We imagine that if something is demonstrably false, the public will see through it and the liar will lose credibility… and votes. But modern autocrats, like Donald Trump, don’t lie to convince you of their facts. They lie to destroy your trust in facts. More specifically, autocrats lie to destroy “the establishment” who challenge their “facts”.

Consider Trump’s first use of “alternative facts” in 2017 when his adviser Kellyanne Conway insisted his inauguration crowd was the largest ever. Despite photographic evidence proving otherwise – she doubled down on the lie. The reaction was dismissive laughter followed by further disbelief each time the lie was “doubled down” on. Since then, we’ve been drenched by a firehose of demonstrably baseless claims which Trump stands by.

It’s counter-intuitive, but to believe an aspiring autocrat is trying to convince us of the truth is a mistake. Trump is actually trying to provoke the establishment into calling him a liar – because once they’ve done that, he can then counter – by calling the establishment liars right back. That’s why Trump digs in and never corrects, retracts or apologises – no matter how ridiculous the lie is.

Here’s how it works;

1. Trump claims immigrants are eating petsin Springfield, Ohio.
2. Politicians from Kamala Harris to the Governor and Mayor of Ohio (both Republicans) say “He’s lying”.
3. Trump doubles down, “they would say that, they’re part of the cover up” etc.
   and accuses them of lying.
4. The police in Springfield say there are no credible reports. It’s simply not true.
5. Trump stands firm – “they’re lying, because it’s their fault crime’s out of control” etc.
6. A reporter interviews the lady who posted it on Facebook. She says her cat returned the next day.
7. The reporter publishes, Trump cries “Fake News”.
8. The reporter and their publication are now part of the conspiracy.

The cycle ends not in clarity, but a landscape of disputed facts. By flooding public discourse with outlandish lies and then claiming all rebuttals are from a corrupt establishment, autocrats create a battlefield of accusations in which no one can be trusted – not politicians, the police, journalists or judges.

In short, the end goal isn’t persuasion, it’s the destruction of public trust in the establishment. Why? Because without facts, voters either disengage or can only vote on personality and promises. In a political landscape marred by cynicism and disillusionment, a known liar can appear “authentic.” And if they win, they can then claim a popular mandate to dismantle the “corrupt, lying establishment” along with its checks and balances to power.

This isn’t theoretical.

On March 19^th Trump posted : “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”

No mention of the appeals process, just a clear challenge to judicial authority – an attempt to reframe legal accountability as betrayal of the people’s will.

Wales: A Quiet Revolution in Political Accountability

In stark contrast, Wales is implementing a legal solution so simple it’s almost shocking no one thought of it sooner:

“Seven days to clarify, correct or retract a statement of fact if challenged. Or choose to defend it in court.”

That’s it. No censorship. Just a legal obligation for politicians to correct the record—or stand by it, under legal scrutiny.

This mechanism, currently moving through the legislative process in Wales, does something vital: it reintroduces consequence into political speech. Not for opinions, but for facts. The difference is crucial. Politicians remain free to argue, spin, and debate. But if they claim a hospital has closed, a crime rate has surged, or a rival is guilty of fraud, they must be prepared to prove it—or retract it.

The beauty of this system lies in its balance. It’s not a gag order. It’s a fact-check with teeth. And in doing so, it helps restore the essential currency of any democracy: trust. Because without facts there can be no truth and without truth there can be no trust. The Welsh legislation directly counters the real crime of aspiring autocrats… destruction of public trust through the denial of facts.

Why This Matters

Public trust in politics is at historic lows across the West. In the UK, Only 11% of the public trust politicians² – scandals from Partygate to PPE contracts have deepened cynicism. That cynicism is only intensified by politicians insisting they should be judged by their peers instead of an independent judiciary. Indeed, the existing internal mechanisms (all with judgement by peers) have presided over a decline in trust. And rightly so. The public aren’t fools to question why politicians choose to be judged by their own team – no sport allows competitors to choose their referee.

In the US, public trust has seen a similar decline and the very idea of a shared, fact-based reality has frayed. In this vacuum, autocrats thrive.

Wales’s legislation offers a legal framework that turns the tide. By deterring lies, it shifts political incentives. Candidates no longer benefit from outrageous claims designed to go viral before the truth can catch up. They’re forced to either stand by their words—or eat them in court.

More importantly, it creates a public culture in which truth matters again. Not just because it’s morally right—but also because it’s legally required. That sends a powerful message: facts aren’t optional – especially in politics. We expect our elected representatives to set a standard for us all. The legislation gives facts and truth “social currency” and rebuilds public trust by forcing politicians to act honourably.

A Model for Other Democracies?

But as democracies around the world teeter under the weight of disinformation, the window to follow Wales is closing. Since Trumps election victory aspiring autocrats have been emboldened and are watching and learning. Ironically, just one day before Wales’s Minister for the Constitution made his historic announcement (watch the extraordinary moment of cross-party unity here) America’s supreme court was gifting Trump Presidential immunity from prosecution.

The Welsh model offers a mechanism where truth isn’t just an ideal, but a legal standard, a vaccine – protecting democracies from the infection of political deceit and giving citizens something many have lost; confidence that words still matter, and that truth can still win.

¹ V-Dem Institute 2025 Democracy Report
² IPSOS Veracity Index 2024

Richard Symons founded Compass, the agency managing strategy for the legislators and lawyers behind the legal solution being introduced in Wales and internationally.