Café Scientifique Saskatoon is a monthly pub night where guest scientists talk about their research and answer questions, and Tuesday night’s topic of conversation is misinformation and social media during the pandemic. One of the guest speakers is Dr. Gordon Pennycook from Cornell University, whose research during the pandemic included why people believe, spread and share misinformation online.

He says people are surprisingly good at distinguishing between true and false news, but not online.  “One of the largest issues with misinformation is that those few who have the strongest views or in some cases, like may be the most overconfident or whatever, those are the ones who are speaking out the most and the silent majority may not agree, but they aren’t speaking up.”

Dr. Pennycook’s research has found that when sharing information on social media, in some cases, accuracy may not take precedence over one’s beliefs.
He reminds people to fact check rather than just share or forward something you read on social media. Dr. Kyle Anderson from USask’s College of Medicine and Dr. Angie Rasmussen from VIDO-Intervac will also be talking about their experiences dealing with public education and health policy during the pandemic.

The Cafe Scientifique event is free, but you need to register ahead of time.