Make facts matter again: Pushing back against misinformation and disinformation
Tara Haelle, Health Beat Leader for Infectious Diseases at the Association of Health Care Journalists, discusses medical misinformation with Stephan Lewandowsky, Ph.D., Chief of Cognitive Science at the University of Bristol.
Association of Health Care Journalists
It’s exhausting and disheartening to work as a journalist these days, dutifully reporting the facts only to see accurate reporting engulfed and overwhelmed by misinformation and disinformation — especially on social media. The consequences are dire — for example, declining vaccination rates and a growing number of measles outbreaks.
While there is no simple solution to the misinformation epidemic, the situation isn’t hopeless, and journalists still play a vital role in conveying accurate, nuanced information about health. In this webinar, you’ll hear from Stephan Lewandowsky, a cognitive scientist at the University of Bristol and one of the lead original authors of “The Debunking Handbook,” as he talks about how misinformation spreads, why people cling to it — rejecting accurate information — and what he thinks journalists can do to help address this crisis.
ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM THE INTEGRITY PROJECT
