Some of the takeaways from the panel:

• Misinformation is a significant risk to public health
  • Decline in the trust of the government, science, and journalism
  • Misinformation spreads farther than truth – fear and emotional reactions
• Conspiracy theories provide certainty in uncertain situations
  • Need for public to be more comfortable with uncertainty
  • Science is iterative – recommendations change as new information comes out
  • Information couldn’t come out fast enough during the pandemic – creation of information vacuum that was filled with misinfo
• Not all untruths are the same – may be well-intended, not necessarily malicious like a lie – due to a lack of understanding
  • There is a spectrum of vaccine hesitancy – concerns ranging from ingredients, schedule, risk perception, and misconceptions about autism
  • Importance of meeting people where they are and compassion in messaging when addressing vaccine beliefs
    • Grounding in empathy – don’t be dismissive of beliefs, understand that they are the victims of bad information
    • Get parents to have conversations – become a peer advocate – importance of 1-on-1 conversations
    • Give facts at levels people can understand
• Need for collaboration between scientists and journalists, media literacy education to encourage critical analysis of information
  • Social media incentivizes quick reactions and shares – need to teach people to slow down, develop a process of inquiry when assessing information
    • Not about where you get your news from, but developing tools of media literacy
  • Lack of education about scientific methods
    • Speed of vaccine development created mistrust – lack of understanding in verification and safety processes (clinical trials)
  • Scientists aren’t trained to talk to the public – people will grab onto the title of a paper and make assumptions without reading the full article
  • Empower and amplify already trusted sources to give correct messaging