Kind: captions
Language: en
(groovy music)
- We live in an era of information
at your fingertips that you could
just do another search.
- I'm sure some misinformation
is probably spread on both sides.
- First things first,
see who said it
or who published it?
- Misinformation is all around us.
Let's talk about it.
February, 2020.
(dramatic music)
The US Surgeon General,
government leaders,
and science professionals
were all giving us the same information.
Everyday Americans did not need
to wear masks to protect ourselves
from the COVID-19 virus.
- The average American
does not need to go out
and buy a mask.
- But by the summer,
the CDC and federal officials
reversed their stance,
everybody should wear a mask.
- When you are not able
to socially distance, wear a mask.
Whether you like the masks or not,
they have an impact.
- The new information seemed
to contradict the original message.
Were we all are just playing
a global game of Telephone?
Hey, there, I'm Alex Clark.
I'm a journalist,
instructor of video, and a filmmaker.
And with NOVA Science Studio,
we're going to be breaking
down misinformation.
Misinformation is shared millions
of times a day on Facebook alone.
So it's easy to get tangled up.
So at first, we're told
that masks are not necessary,
and then many areas
are requiring people to wear them.
By the summer of 2020,
people in all 50 states are wearing masks
as part of their everyday attire.
I got my keys, wallet, mask,
I'm good to go.
But thousands of people remained convinced
that masks were not effective.
And many of the people
who did not believe in masks
relied on social media as their
primary source of science information,
and there is a lot
of misinformation out there,
some of which was very convincing.
There're even fake notices from the CDC,
advising that people
should not wear masks,
which is wild.
All of this had a very real effect.
A model from the Institute
of Health Metrics
at the University of Washington
found that if 95% of Americans
had worn masks starting in mid June,
there would have been nearly 22,000
fewer deaths by the 1st of October.
So yes, the stakes are high
when it comes to spotting misinformation.
By the way, science misinformation
is defined as a statement that contradicts
what established science
tells us to be true.
We're all prone to believe
many of these messages
as part of our human nature.
But don't take it from me,
Dominique Brossard is an expert
on science misinformation,
and she points out that
often people share misinformation
only because it aligns
with their worldview.
- We rely on mental shortcuts
to help us make sense
of the world around us.
Relying on those beliefs
that are very important to us,
religious beliefs, and things
that our Church tell us.
Environmental worldviews,
we think the environment
is really something we should protect.
- In the case of somebody
who doesn't believe in climate change,
it doesn't matter if say,
97% of scientists say it's real,
because it doesn't align
with what they've already
ingrained in their thinking.
- Exactly, if something really
doesn't align with your political views,
you're gonna discard it.
Another reason why people may actually
believe information or
share information online
very quickly is because it's information
that gives them hope.
So an example that
actually pertain to these
is anything related to crowd.
- I think I know what she means.
When you look today on Instagram,
there's products that
boost your metabolism,
make you thinner, give you more energy,
but the problem is that
these facts often aren't verified,
and we don't have the information
about who's pushing them.
But the FTC took on social
influencers in 2019.
They fined a company called Teami,
whose ads said that their products
not only promoted weight loss
but also fought cancer.
Teami, today, the FTC advises users
use hashtags like these to let you know
that it's sponsored information.
One last reason people believe
false information when it occurs
is that the content is
just funny or satirical.
- People may share things
because he thinks they're funny.
And this is something that we've seen
with young audience as well
with the means and so on.
- Some users might even use the humor
to justify sharing the misinformation.
- At the end of the day,
it was just a joke,
and their joke taken out of context
can be perceived as reality.
- What's important about
all of these cases,
whether it's funny,
whether it aligns with your worldview,
is it doesn't always matter
why somebody shared it.
Whether it was intentional or not,
it's altering our perception of reality.
So thinking back
to the Coronavirus Task
Force recommendation,
what to make of it?
- The average American
does not need to go out
and buy a mask.
- We were told early on
that we shouldn't wear masks,
and now, we are told that
we should wear masks
may seem contradictory.
- The discovery of asymptomatic spread
is one of the reasons
the scientific advice changed.
It's defined as the transmission
of a disease via individuals
who do not exhibit symptoms.
This whole concept of asymptomatic spread
elevated the need for mask-wearing
by the general public.
But there's more.
By the summer, we learned that
there was no longer a threat
of a widespread shortage
of personal protective equipment or PPE,
and even some homemade masks
could be partly effective
in stopping the airborne transmission.
Therefore masks became a no-brainer,
everybody should wear one.
So let's recap.
These are some of the reasons
that people believe in misinformation.
First, it could be
because our understanding
of the science on the topic has changed,
or it could be because misinformation
has simply affirmed our existing beliefs,
and in some cases,
it's just because it's funny,
and we wanna share it with other people.
So now, how does it spread?
That's next episode.
(lighthearted music)