Why Our Next Pandemic is an Infodemic

On a special edition of the GetConnected Video Podcast, we’re discovering a major problem brewing in Canada. One that affects and can infect everyone. We’re not talking about COVID-19. It’s called an ‘infodemic,’ and powering it is ‘misinformation.’ But there’s hope as a team from Ryerson University is working on inoculating us with facts. All this and more on the May 23, 2020 edition of the GetConnected Video Podcast.

Watch right now by clicking the video below!

A Canadian University is working with the government to help innoculate us from an ‘infodemic.’ Powering this plague is the deluge of misinformation coming from multiple sources, mainly on social media. Anatoliy Gruzd, the Director of Research, and his colleague, Philip Mai, the Director of Business and Communication at the Ryerson University Social Media Lab, have created a website called COVID19Misinfo.org. This site helps Canadians successfully combat the mass amount of misinformation by quickly educating themselves with the facts. The site also provides information on recently debunked stories that can be harmful.

Part of their work has been to find the source of misinformation. We discuss the results of a survey on how Canadians get and interpret their pandemic news–the results may surprise you. We urge everyone you care about to watch this week, so we can all do our part to flatten the curve on misinformation.

Working from their home studios are Mike Agerbo and John Biehler. Special thanks to our guests, Anatoliy Gruzd and Philip Mai from the Social Media Lab at Ryerson University, for helping us tackle this essential subject matter.

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