On today's Hometown Alaska, we're talking about the 'infodemic.' That's a term coined by The World Health Organization. And it means an 'abundance of information – some accurate and some not – that occurs during an epidemic.' Take a listen:
Here’s a new word for you: infodemic. The World Health Organization coined the term and centered a recent global conference around coming to terms with a glut of mis- and dis-information that is harming public health.While this is a global issue, and links below will take you to the WHO’s many universal resources, a local group has been fighting inaccurate information on Facebook pages.
The effort is more than two years old, and continues. On today’s Hometown Alaska, we’ll meet some of the participants. They’ll offer insight into the fight against mis- and dis-information, how it so easily spreads on social media, and how you can navigate those troubled waters yourself, like how do you handle disinformation within your own family and circle of friends?
We’ll also hear from Steve Johnson, coach of the UAA debate team, on how disinformation is threatening democracy. He shares the best book he’s read on the topic, “The Constitution of Knowledge: A defense of truth” by Jonathan Rauch. This portion of the program was pre-recorded.during the show, Monday April 25, 10 am-11 am.
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