JL-047 · Prof Jiang Xueqin · said
In the Western world (United States and Europe), there will be a decline of democracy and freedom, with these nations becoming more authoritarian.
Prof Jiang Xueqin said this on 22 August 2025. Our assessment, on the public evidence linked below, is confirmed.
What Prof Jiang Xueqin said
“the first thing that's going to happen in the western world is decline of democracy and freedom.”
Our assessment
This has already been settled in the claimant's favour, 18 years ahead of the December 2044 deadline. V-Dem's Democracy Report 2026, published in March 2026, finds the level of democracy for the average citizen in Western Europe and North America at its lowest in over 50 years, the United States losing liberal democracy status for the first time in over 50 years, and autocratisation affecting seven EU member states plus the UK and USA, with Croatia, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK newly listed. Worth noting for the ledger that the decline was already documented when the claim was made in August 2025, so this is closer to description than forecast.
Evidence
This is our opinion, reached from the quote alongside it and the evidence linked here. How we score.
Verdict history 1
- reviewed batch, 3 August 2026Pending changed to Confirmed
This has already been settled in the claimant's favour, 18 years ahead of the December 2044 deadline. V-Dem's Democracy Report 2026, published in March 2026, finds the level of democracy for the average citizen in Western Europe and North America at its lowest in over 50 years, the United States losing liberal democracy status for the first time in over 50 years, and autocratisation affecting seven EU member states plus the UK and USA, with Croatia, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK newly listed. Worth noting for the ledger that the decline was already documented when the claim was made in August 2025, so this is closer to description than forecast.