Fueled by emotion-driven and easily shared social media, the current waves of online misinformation casting doubt on science have grown in size, frequency and intensity. This episode of Health Science Radio features two guests from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who are passionate about preventing and reversing the trend: Aimee Bernard, PhD, associate professor of immunology and microbiology, and Laura Scherer, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the cardiology division. Both Bernard and Scherer are faculty members at the CU School of Medicine. They discuss sources of misinformation, how it is disseminated, the challenges of social influencers and predatory journals, as well as nuanced strategies all science communicators can consider to help rebuild trust in science.
Studies referenced in this episode:
Authenticity in science communication:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0226711
Reducing conspiracy beliefs with AI:
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.adq1814
Accuracy nudge intervention:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956797620939054
Who is susceptible to health misinformation:
https://wp.demetra.rs/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/hea-hea0000978.pdf
Preprint reporting on a test of different misinformation interventions with 30,000+ people:
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