Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories, and COVID: A Reckoning

It’s a brave new world people!  There has been an extraordinary and historic change in the way society interacts with information.  With the COVID pandemic raging misinformation and conspiracy theories have taken off like wildfire.  But why?  And what can we as providers do about it?  Join Drs. Patrick Georgoff and Brian Southwell for this timely discussion.  

Dr. Southwell is Senior Director of the Science in the Public Sphere Program at the RTI International’s Center for Communication Science. He is also Adjunct Professor at Duke University and Adjunct Associate Professor in Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr. Southwell has published widely on topics such as public understanding of science and emerging infectious diseases. He co-founded the Duke Program on Medical Misinformation, a clinician training initiative to improve patient-provider conversations about misinformation. He also has organized several summits on trust in science and medical misinformation, such as the Misinformation Solutions Forum. In addition, Dr. Southwell created and hosts The Measure of Everyday Life, a public radio show that translates research for general audiences on WNCU, a station based at North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC.   

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