People are becoming more skeptical of information because we are in a post-truth era with fake news and alternative facts.
That’s according to Peggy Schmeiser with USask’s Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.
It plays a part in the world of science and research, because the challenge is getting the most accurate information to government leaders when they are making policy decisions.
The internet is part of the solution and the problem, with some excellent sources of information and research on any topic, but there is also more inaccurate or deceptive websites out there.
Her advice in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic is to find trusted sources for your virus updates and don’t believe everything you see on social media.
It’s the same advice she would give to governments in any policy making process.
Climate change, food security, genetically modified foods and vaccines are other examples of where you can find arguments on all sides that say their information is correct.
The challenge is to disseminate what is most accurate.
Schmeiser believes the research community can play a role in this, to collaborate with political science and communications experts, and cultural theorists to find ways of conveying solutions in a more clarified and helpful way.