Intelligence Squared Discourse Disrupters series: How to fight an infodemic
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.