In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proliferation of misinformation on social media has eroded public trust in science and created an epidemic of "fake news." Our aim is to bring together misinformation experts and scientists to explore strategies for rebuilding trust and combating the spread of false information. Discussions will delve into the nature of fake news, its dissemination patterns, and its impact on crucial issues like the COVID-19 crisis and climate change. Experts will shed light on the role of social media platforms, the line between critical thinking and conspiracy theories, and the factors that make individuals susceptible to misinformation. The seminar will also examine effective countermeasures, such as fact-checking, public engagement, and deplatforming, to address the polarization caused by extreme beliefs and restore confidence in authoritative sources. As part of the Grand Challenges Seminars series, this event promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of one of the most pressing challenges facing modern society.
Chair: Professor David Marshall, Physical Oceanographer and Academic Director of the NERC DTP.
Panellists
Professor Karen Douglas
Karen Douglas is a Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Kent. She is currently the director of the ERC-funded project "CONSPIRACY_FX - Consequences of conspiracy theories". Her research examines why conspiracy theories appeal to so many people, and the consequences of conspiracy theories for individuals, groups, and society. Media coverage of Professor Douglas’ research can be found on many major news outlets including CNN, BBC, The New York Post.
Dr James Painter
Dr James Painter is a research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University, and a senior teaching associate at the Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography, also at Oxford. He currently consults on communication issues for the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and has done similar work for IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), Oxfam, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), and other NGOs. His primary research focus is the portrayal of extreme weather events, animal agriculture and climate change in the media, climate scepticism, and the challenges of climate journalism.
Dr Ramit Debnath
Dr Ramit Debnath is a university assistant professor and an academic director at the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of Churchill College and Cambridge Zero and has visiting roles at Caltech and Florence School of Regulation Global. Dr Debnath sits on the steering committee of Cambridge's new Centre for Human-Inspired AI (CHIA) and also leads the Collective Intelligence & Design Group. His current research uses computational social science, machine learning and AI to provide a complex system-level understanding of barriers to climate action, and aims to design people-centric and just climate and sustainability action pathways.
Signing Up Link:
https://www.eventbrite.it/e/fake-news-gone-viral-countering-the-misinformation-epidemic-tickets-885747333117?aff=oddtdtcreator
