MPR News Presents

Intelligence Squared Discourse Disrupters series: How to fight an infodemic

President Trump arrives as Dr. Anthony Fauci looks on
President Trump arrives as Dr. Anthony Fauci looks on during a coronavirus task force press briefing at the White House on April 4, 2020.
Jim Watson | AFP via Getty Images file

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, the World Health Organization is warning of something else — an information epidemic they're calling an "infodemic."

People are inundated with data and press conferences, and exposed to dubious data, miscredited quotations and outright harmful claims.

John Donvan hosts a discussion on how to be discerning communicators and consumers during a time of crisis.

  • Angie Drobnic Holan is a journalist and editor-in-chief of PolitiFact. She says: “When we are in an extremely high-profile news event, people are just hungry for new information.”

  • Kate Starbird is a computer scientist and associate professor of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. Starbird says: “The misinformation becomes dangerous when it hits the influencers.”

Use the audio player above to listen to the full discussion.

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