---
description: EA's fidelity model shows mass media inherently strips nuance from complex ideas, producing distortions that undermine the movement, while in-person channels preserve complexity through real-time correction
type: claim
domain: cultural-dynamics
created: 2026-02-17
source: "Web research compilation, February 2026"
confidence: likely
tradition: "applied memetics, effective altruism, movement building"
---

The Centre for Effective Altruism developed a fidelity model placing propagation methods on a continuum from low fidelity (mass media, which strips nuance and distorts ideas) to high fidelity (in-person conversations and research papers, which preserve complexity). A key finding: EA ideas are inherently complex and interrelated, so methods that strip depth produce something "similar to but different from effective altruism." In-person interactions are highest fidelity because people update better in conversation and can focus on areas of misconception.

This maps directly onto the challenge any intellectual movement faces. When "survival of the fittest" entered popular culture, it created deep misunderstanding of evolution. When Maslow's hierarchy became a cultural touchstone, it barely resembled Maslow's actual theory. "Quantum" entered popular discourse meaning "mysterious" rather than "discrete." In each case, mass media's compression requirements destroyed the essential meaning while preserving the surface vocabulary.

EA's strategic response was to prioritize high-fidelity channels -- books, podcasts, in-person groups -- over mass media virality. They found it far more effective to identify people already predisposed to their tenets than to convert skeptics through simplified messaging. The resolution to the accuracy-virality tension is not compromise but layering: ultra-simple memes for awareness and attention, medium-complexity content for understanding, and full-complexity material for commitment. Each layer feeds into the next, creating an engagement funnel where simplification at the top is acceptable because robust pathways exist to deeper understanding below.

---

Relevant Notes:
- [[meme propagation selects for simplicity novelty and conformity pressure rather than truth or utility]] -- the structural bias this fidelity model compensates for
- [[knowledge scaling bottlenecks kill revolutionary ideas before they reach critical mass]] -- fidelity loss as a specific knowledge scaling bottleneck
- [[TeleoHumanity spreads through demonstrated capability not authority or conversion]] -- high-fidelity demonstration as propagation strategy

Topics:
- [[maps/livingip overview]]