The misinformation vaccine.
How to promote truth over alternative facts.
A few weeks ago, Nature published research that didn’t entirely surprise me: policymakers with responsibility for negotiating climate policies gave more weight to their own prior beliefs, even when they are given accurate and relevant scientific information. Yep, even when presented with peer-reviewed information, people can’t let go of their preconceptions.
News like this could pose a bit of a problem for someone like me — someone who works to visualise and communicate scientific data in ways that inspire people’s perspectives and decision making. Still, I’m here to reassure you that this is a problem we can get through. For a while now, folks like me — journalists, scientists, psychologists and others — have been thinking about how we can counter misinformation and get people to consider all the facts, not just the things they already believe in. In this blog I’m going to share some of the things I’ve learned to do this, and some ideas for how we can deal with misinformation in a positive way.
Use a vaccine.
Recent work published by Cambridge University proposed the idea of ‘inoculating’ people against misinformation. Just as Edward Jenner proved that inoculating people with cowpox made them immune to smallpox, the researchers wanted to see if exposing people to misinformation could help limit any damaging influence it might have. Their subject of choice was a topic that divides opinion despite overwhelming scientific evidence of its existence: climate change.
The researchers found that when people were presented with both a well-known fact and a common myth, the myth would cancel out the truth and a person’s existing opinion on climate change would remain unchanged. However, if you gave someone a climate fact as well as an explanation of why climate deniers might put out inaccurate statements, opinions about climate change would remain closer to the scientific truth despite later exposure to incorrect information.
What this research has shown is that you cannot simply state your facts and expect people to believe them. You have to offer them a reason to give less credit to any alternative facts they already believe in.
Adapt your delivery.
To get your information to the people who can use it, you have to present it in a format that is accessible and useful to them. Data visualisation is one way to do this and the authors of the Nature study identified it as one of the ways to influence perception and action among policymakers.
Data visualisation makes information more accessible and useable but because there are so many different ways to present data, it’s essential to choose the one that is best for your audience. This choice is best informed by doing user research and getting to know the people who’ll be using your information. By understanding what they want and what they will use the information for, you can develop something that will excite and engage them.
Plan, prepare, and get ready to publish.
At school, I had a teacher who never wished students luck at exam time, he would simply say, “fortune favours the prepared mind”. The same principle applies to dealing with misinformation. If you communicate science, you need to be aware of the kind of alternative facts other people might be peddling and keep a stockpile of responses on hand to share when they crop up.
In his draft public relations framework, Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer at Ketchum and a Visiting Professor in Practice, Newcastle University, picks out crisis communications, an upgrade of monitoring systems, and speedy storytelling as essential elements of a strategy that is able to deal with fake news and the misinformation it spreads. Add a ‘vaccine’ to your own strategy and you’ll be well prepared to share your own fact-checked information.
But most importantly: Live your values.
If you want people to believe what you are saying, you have to earn their trust.
The best way to earn trust is to live the values you promote. Knowing what you stand for — and what you won’t — is perhaps the most important place to begin when you’re on a quest to counter misinformation with truth and invite others in to join you.
Vizzuality has published its promises to the world and, like many of my teammates, I live by them. As accusations of dishonesty fly between politicians and the media, I’ll continue to use my skills, creativity, and optimism to share information openly and transparently. There has never been a more important time to speak clearly and I’m proud to be part of a global community that is trying to shine a light on the truth.
If you enjoyed this blog, why not read vizzuality’s blog about post-truth and how it might impact the way we talk about data?
