What responsibility did Noam Chomsky believe intellectuals have toward the public?

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Noam Chomsky wearing glasses and a dark sweater, looking slightly to the side during an interview. — Noam Chomsky American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky, 2010.

Noam Chomsky maintains that the primary responsibility of an intellectual—acting as a moral agent—is to bring the truth regarding matters of human significance to an audience capable of taking action on those issues.1

He argues that intellectuals, such as journalists and academics, have an obligation to provide ordinary citizens with the information necessary to draw their own conclusions and make informed decisions about vital political and economic matters. Chomsky contends that many intellectuals fail this duty by acting as "commissars" for elite interests, often engaging in self-deception to justify the influence of corporations and state power. By contrast, he believes a responsible intellectual must resist the pressure to serve established privilege and instead prioritize the dissemination of truth to the public.1