The year of misinformation and its impact on COVID-19

TRSM - Like Nobody's Business

As the global pandemic continues, more people than ever are turning to all forms of digital media for their news. The reliability of that information, especially in the wake of a health crisis, has many top officials and doctors worried. Canada's chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, has even said that misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading faster than the virus itself.

In this episode Professor Anatoliy Gruzd discusses the prevalence of misinformation in 2020 and the best ways to inoculate ourselves against it. Gruzd is the director of the Social Media Lab at the Ted Rogers School of Management and is also the Canada Research Chair in Privacy Preserving Digital Technologies. He touches on the ways misinformation has impacted the U.S. Presidential election, the rise of "home grown" misinformation groups and his expectations for when the COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out.

Visit the Social Media Lab's COVID-19 Misinformation portal for resources on how to track and be aware of misinformation online and visit the Ted Rogers School of Management to view the graph Professor Gruzd references in this episode.