Can disinformation kill? | Science Press Agency

It seems that fake news and conspiracy theories can now be attributed to hospitalizations and even deaths. According to a report by an expert panel from the Council of Canadian Academies published this winter, without misinformation, at least 13,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths could have been avoided, in 2021 alone.

Not to mention the effects on mental health. We were – and still are – experiencing an alarming event, and the wave of fake news was such that the World Health Organization saw fit, in February 2020, to issue a warning of an “infodemic” – a fake news epidemic.

What are the effects of this misinformation on our health and our lives and what can we do on our level? Isabelle Bourgogne talks about it with:

Fears, mistrust and social networks: it is our vulnerabilities, beliefs and emotions that speak. Is this how misinformation is born? What are the dangers and drift? What factors drive some to engage in disinformation rhetoric?

In our loved ones, when should we worry? How do I renew the dialogue with this conspiring brother?

We’ve been hearing so much about conspiracy theories with the pandemic, that the term “pandemic conspiracy” was coined. What is this?

Can we identify, among these conspiracy theories, the ones that have the greatest impact on our lives?

Misinformation also affects environmental issues, shouldn’t we forget that?

Underlying these beliefs is a growing distrust of institutions. How do you take into account the questioning of the authorities in the democratic framework, or even anger at all institutions?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I vote for science It airs Mondays at 1 p.m. on the five regional stations VM Radio. Run by Isabelle Bourgeon. Find this offer: Fanny Rohrbacher. You can also hear us, among others, on CIBO (Senneterre), CFOU (Trois-Rivières) and CHOM (Toronto).

On this page you will find links to shows from previous seasons. You can also follow us Twitter and on FB.

photo: 3dPete/Flickr/ CC 2.0