In Focus – 45mn

At a time when access to facts is vital and the veracity of the information we read can mean the difference between life and death, we are at risk of being bombarded with half truths and downright lies. In recent years, the growth of social media has seen a parallel growth in online misinformation and subterfuge, with the public increasingly swayed by what they read, led more by shocking headlines than evidence based on science. How can we insure that antivaxers and conspiracy theorists don’t thwart efforts to safeguard the public against the real threat of COVID-19 or stop the successful delivery of vaccines to enough people for them to be effective? Or is the concept of an infodemic to match the current pandemic overblown?

SPEAKERS:

• Alastair Campbell, Writer, Communicator and Strategist
• Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief at BMJ
• Mihajlo Popesku, Head of Research at Auspex International