DOCSLIB.ORG

The Fake News Age – Telling Health Fact Vs Fiction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Fake News Age – Telling Health Fact Vs Fiction Welcome to the fake news age – telling health fact vs fiction @MHPHealth | #MakingPerfectSenseOfHealth 2 What can communicators do to help people tell health fact from fiction? FOREWORD KATE POGSON Head of Health, ENGINE MHP It is no secret that fake news has become an ‘expression du jour’. In healthcare, the consequences of misinformation or fake news can be incredibly serious. The ongoing noise and attention of anti-vax groups and their associated arguments has led the World Health Organisation to list ‘Vaccine Hesitancy’ as one of the world’s most significant public health threats. This is despite conclusive evidence to demonstrate the benefit of vaccinations on an individual’s health, as well as the broader population. So, what is going wrong? How do we as communicators counter misinformation and what can we learn from the increased interest in behavioural psychology approaches to evidence-base our communications? Welcome to our Fake News Panel – we are delighted to be joined by such a variety of media, behavioural and clinical experts to discuss why misinformation continues to proliferate and what we can do to try and get ahead of the curve. We are also pleased to share with you new research conducted by ENGINE MHP looking at what media sources the public trust most with information relating to their health, and also to present you with a new model, developed in collaboration with the Affective Brain Lab at University College London, looking at effective mechanisms for communications in this, the Networked Age. 1 PANELLIST BIOGRAPHIES DR CHRISTIAN JESSEN DR FIONA Mc MASTER Doctor and TV Presenter Behavioural Psychologist & Consultant, Innovia Technology Dr Christian Jessen is a popular health campaigner Dr Fiona McMaster is an innovation consultant who combines his medical career with a successful at Cambridge-based Innovia Technology, where media career. He works closely with various she specialises in projects that link innovation charities (including Terrence Higgins Trust, Ditch with behavioural science and healthcare. Prior the Label and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home) to to working at Innovia, Fiona was an academic, help raise awareness and make health accessible to designing and delivering public health courses and everyone. Dr Christian is well-known for presenting research projects in the UK, the USA, Singapore, Dr Christian Will See You Now and Dr Christian: China and Nigeria. Her health interests are diverse, 12 Hours to Cure Your Street along with the multi and projects she has worked on have included award-winning Embarrassing Bodies and Supersize interventions to reduce obesity in children in the vs Superskinny. He also presented the critically US to increasing medication compliance for HIV acclaimed documentaries Undercover Doctor: Cure patients in Nigeria. She regularly trains health Me I’m Gay, How the Rich Live Longer and co-hosted and social care practitioners in motivational Drugs Live and Stand Up to Cancer (Channel 4). interviewing, and is a member of the Motivational He writes regular health columns and is the author Interviewing Network of Trainers. of Dr Christian’s Guide to Growing Up Online, Dr Christian’s Guide to Growing Up, Dr Christian’s innoviatech.com Guide to the Tricky Stuff, Dr Christian’s Guide to @FionaMcMaster You, Can I Just Ask? and Supersize vs Superskinny. drchristianjessen.com @DoctorChristian 2 TOM CHIVERS KATE POGSON Former Telegraph Journalist Head of Health, ENGINE MHP Tom Chivers was BuzzFeed UK's science writer Kate brings over 10 years’ experience in between 2015 and 2018. Before joining BuzzFeed, pharmaceutical and healthcare communications, he spent seven years at the Telegraph, where he supporting clients across a broad range of once interviewed Terry Pratchett and was told he communications disciplines including public affairs was 'far too nice to be a journalist'. He has struggled and health policy, product communications, disease on despite this handicap, winning several awards awareness campaigns, market access programmes including a Statistical Excellence in Journalism and crisis management. award from the Royal Statistical Society and being shortlisted for Best Science Writer in the British Kate’s understanding of the pharmaceutical Journalism Awards 2017. and media landscape stem from a career at two leading healthcare public relations agencies @TomChivers and an academic background in biochemistry and molecular biology. Kate was awarded the Communiqué Healthcare Leader Award in 2018. @KateP82 ROB DAWSON Director of Communications, Advocacy & Support, Meningitis Research Foundation and Chair, Stempra Rob Dawson is a strategic communications director with expertise in health and science across industry, not-for-profit and public sector, currently working for the Meningitis Research Foundation. Rob is a Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) member and the Chair of the STEM PR Association. His awards include Third Sector Awards 2018, Communications Campaign of the Year for Meningitis Research Foundation’s adolescent vaccine campaign; Communiqué Awards 2007, Best Use of a Survey for GlaxoSmithKline’s HIV portfolio; Communiqué Awards 2005, Best Patient or Public Campaign for a social marketing campaign for Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare Trust. @bioscifan 3 PUBLIC POLLING ANALYSIS In the Networked Age, a huge The polling results demonstrated the majority receive health information from and trust the amount of data is processed, traditional sources: healthcare professionals and the NHS. However, social media and the news packaged and published in the media are becoming a more prominent source of media, both traditional and health information, but trust in these platforms is limited: seven in ten people agree they often hear online. But how often is this contradictory health advice through the media and information misinterpreted or struggle to know what to believe. misquoted? Are we living in an This presents a challenge for those who are responsible for producing a story: from the scientist era of misinformation? MHP in the laboratory, through their institution’s press commissioned public polling* office, to the journalist and their editor – to ensure that the story is clear, relevant and contextualised, to better understand where whilst also being interesting and ‘newsworthy’. the public go for health There is also a pressing need to equip the public with tools to increase health and media literacy, as two- misinformation and which thirds of those struggling to know what to believe sources are most trusted. rarely or never check that the health information they read is correct. Finally, our polling suggested that we also need to address the bigger picture, as an overwhelming majority (79%) of those polled saw the need for a call to action by social media platforms and the Government to regulate misinformation. This data has highlighted that there is a lot of work to be done to limit misinformation – how can we, as communication professionals, X help lead the change? 4 Fact or fiction 1 in 5 20% adults rank social media of people rarely or among their top three never check the places they get their health information health information they read is correct people (29%) 2 in 5 feel they are adults rank the media 3 more likely among the top three to believe a places they most often health story if it see or hear their health in 10 is shared by a information friend on their social channels Half of UK adults put family and friends among their top three most trusted sources of health information – third after healthcare professionals (83%) and the NHS (72%) * ComRes interviewed 2,041 British adults on behalf of MHP, aged 18+ online between 15-16 May 2019. Data were weighted to be representative of British adults aged 18+ by key demographics including age, gender, region and social grade. 5 THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNICATOR The first point is that fake news is not intrinsically new. The propensity for individuals to listen and act upon information which is unfounded is a historic one. But at the heart of how we process information are several psychological principles which KATE POGSON communicators need to better understand. Head of Health, ENGINE MHP • We are influenced by people like ourselves: ideas and behaviours are transmitted through networks and we are more likely to listen to So, what is the role of the ‘experts’ who share our own values. ‘Similarity’ very much trumps ‘accuracy’ when it comes communicator in ensuring to the people we listen to. One example of this accurate, evidence-based was a study from the group, Health Feedback, which analysed the pervasiveness of fake news reporting and understanding on Facebook and other social media. Of the ten most shared articles pertaining to health in of critical health topics? 2018 analysed by the research, seven contained misleading or false information • We are biased towards the social norm: telling people that 65 per cent of patients missed their GP appointment in that quarter is not going to spur the audience into being good future citizens, they are more likely to think ‘well, I won’t try hard if everyone is doing it’! • We suffer from confirmation bias and strongly prefer news we agree with: even worse, we tend to overlook evidence which contradicts with what we already think is true! (she says, frantically Googling studies to tell me that Sauvignon Blanc actually has a net health benefit) 6 So, while the appetite and impact of fake news isn’t new, the rise of social and digital platforms What can we do about it? How can we best has allowed this intrinsic behaviour to be amplified. balance fake news, especially in healthcare, so Namely: that patients have ready access to accurate information to support healthy decision making? • Digital algorithms serve up content you have already engaged with and prioritises influencers • Think messenger over message. Yes, I’m over content sure your primary investigator on the phase III product trial is world-renowned, but they • Search makes it easier to ‘prove’ things we already may not resonate with the non-specialist believe and ignore contradictory evidence clinical or patient audience you want to • Like buttons and other digital voting tools make reach.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Borders in Perspective Unigr-CBS Thematic Issue. Bordering in Pandemic Times: Insights Into the COVID-19 Lockdown, Vol
    BORDERS IN PERSPECTIVE UniGR-CBS Thematic Issue 4/2020 BORDERING IN PANDEMIC TIMES Insights into the COVID-19 Lockdown UNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBURG & TRIER UNIVERSITY Christian Wille & Rebekka Kanesu (Eds.) Christan Wille Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences Department of Geography and Spatial Planning University of Luxemburg Rebekka Kanesu Governance & Sustainability Lab Geography Department Trier University UniGR-Center for Border Studies Luxembourg/Trier 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25353/ubtr-xxxx-b825-a20b 2 UniGR-Center for Border Studies EUROPEAN CENTER FOR BORDER STUDIES EN The UniGR-CBS is a thematic cross-border network of approximately 80 researchers within the university grouping University of the Greater Region (UniGR) conducting research on borders, their meanings and chal- lenges. Due to its geographical position in the “heart of Europe”, its expertise and disciplinary diversity, the UniGRCBS has the best prerequisites for becoming a European network of excellence. For the creation of a “European Center for Competence and Knowledge in Border Studies”, the Interreg VA Greater Region pro- gram provides the UniGR-CBS network with approximately EUR 2 million ERDF funding between 2018 and 2020. Within this project, the UniGR-CBS aims at developing harmonized research tools, embedding Border Studies in teaching, promoting the dialogue on cross-border challenges between academia and institutional actors and supporting the spatial development strategy of the Greater Region. FR L’UniGR-CBS est un réseau transfrontalier et thématique qui réunit environ 80 chercheuses et chercheurs des universités membres de l’Université de la Grande Région (UniGR) spécialistes des études sur les fron- tières, leurs significations et enjeux.
    [Show full text]
  • NIQB 56 Ref: Mca11481 ICOS No: Delivered: 27/05/2021 in the HIGH COURT of JUSTICE in NORTHERN I
    Neutral Citation No: [2021] NIQB 56 Ref: McA11481 ICOS No: Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down (subject to editorial corrections)* Delivered: 27/05/2021 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION ________ BETWEEN: ARLENE FOSTER Plaintiff: and CHRISTIAN JESSEN Defendant: ________ Mr David Ringland QC led Mr Hugh MacMahon (instructed by Mr Paul Tweed of Gateley Tweed, Solicitors) on behalf of the Plaintiff Mr Gavin Miller QC led Mr Peter Hopkins (instructed by Ms Olivia O’Kane of Carson McDowell, Solicitors) on behalf of the Defendant for the purposes of making an application for leave to enter a late appearance ________ McALINDEN J Introduction [1] The plaintiff, Mrs Arlene Foster, brings this application for an assessment of damages in relation to a defamatory statement published by the defendant via his Twitter account between 23 December 2019 and 7 January 2020. Following initial publication of the defamatory statement on the defendant’s Twitter page on 23 December 2019, a letter of claim was served on behalf of the plaintiff on 2 January 2020. The tweet and the thread of comments that the original tweet engendered on the defendant’s Twitter page between 23 December 2019 and 7 January 2020 were removed on 7 January 2020 (this being confirmed in an e-mail directed by the defendant to Mr Tweed on that date) but no other steps were taken by the defendant and as a result a writ of summons was issued on 28 January 2020 which was then served by process server on 4 February 2020 and by first class post on 9 March 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Great Stride
    Sect o :G N aGe: d t o ate: 06 5 d t o :0 o e: Se t at /6/ 0 8: 0 c a aGe ta e o b a How Annie Hall’s Great ‘dad pants’ became the look stride of the summer Tuesday 15/06/21 Peony envy Instagram has changed our taste in flowers – and everything else page 3 Anyone for monkey tennis? Peter Baynham on helping create Alan Partridge, Brass Eye and Borat page 8 49 / 73 Sect o :G N aGe: d t o ate: 06 5 d t o :0 o e: Se t at /6/ 0 : c a aGe ta e o b a 50 / 73 Sect o :G N aGe:3 d t o ate: 06 5 d t o :0 o e: Se t at /6/ 0 7: 9 c a aGe ta e o b a • The Guardian Tuesday 15 June 2021 Pass notes 3 Emma Beddington Do I really like I’m trying plant milk: it is peonies – or am I in stomach- thrall to Instagram? churning n an enforced mid-walk pause as the elderly dog licks Following my bleating about the a lamp-post , my husband’s eyes alight on the nearest ethical complexities of milk , I garden. “Ugh,” he says. “That’s ugly.” A thrill of have been experimenting with № 4,295 delicious horror runs through me: he is pointing at a plant-based options, prompted O peony. A bubblegum-pink one, sure, but a peony: it’s by many helpful suggestions from like saying you hate puppies, or your mum.
    [Show full text]
  • Channel Four Television Corporation Report and Financial Statements 2012
    Channel Four Television Corporation Report and Financial Statements 2012 Incorporating the Statement of Media Content Policy Presented to Parliament pursuant to Paragraph 13(1) of Schedule 3 to the Broadcasting Act 1990 The paper used in this publication is sourced from responsibly managed forests and is a FSC certified material. Printed in the UK by a FSC and ISO 14001 certified printer. © Channel Four Television Corporation copyright 2013. The text of this document (this excludes, where present, logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Channel Four Television Corporation copyright and the document title specified. Where third party material has been identified, permission from the respective copyright holder must be sought. This document is available for download from www.official-documents.gov.uk and from www.channel4.com/annualreport Table of contents Channel 4 remit 04 Chairman’s statement 06 Chief Executive’s statement 08 2012 highlights 10 Statement of Media Content Policy Financial Report and Statements Investing in creativity 12 Report of the members 110 Investing in data 16 Independent auditor’s report 122 Investing in the Paralympics 18 Consolidated income statement 124 Doing things the Channel 4 way 30 Statement of changes in equity 125 Factual 42 Balance sheets 126 Film & drama 52 Cashflow statements 127 News & current affairs 60 Significant accounting policies 128 Comedy & entertainment 72 Notes to the financial statements 135 Education & older children 80 Corporate governance 168 Engaging the audience 86 Members 179 Thank you 92 Report on members’ remuneration 183 Awards 94 Programmes and the licence 188 Looking forward 99 Historical record 191 Assurance report 108 4 CHANNEL 4 REMIT Why we do what we do Channel 4’s guiding light is its remit, as laid out in legislation by Parliament.
    [Show full text]
  • Spread the Word
    SPREAD THE WORD TOP TIPS TO HELP YOU GET LOCAL PUBLICITY Thank you for joining the fight and agreeing to Stand Up To Cancer with us. Have you thought about generating some local publicity to promote your fundraising? Letting your local newspaper or radio station know about your fundraising activity is a great way of gathering more support, raising awareness and it can help to boost fundraising. We have produced some tops tips to help you. Getting started Know your facts! Before you call the local reporter or write a press release, make sure you have all the key information at your finger tips. Work out the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How? What’s the story? Is there anything about your event, or the people taking part, that could capture a reader’s attention if they saw it in their local paper? Why is it relevant to them? Why would they want to read on? Why are you fundraising for Stand Up To Cancer? Are you getting involved because you think Stand Up To Cancer is a great idea? Have you, or any of the people taking part in your fundraising activity, got a specific reason for supporting Stand Up To Cancer? If you have a very personal reason linked to the cause, it could motivate others to get involved. You may be a cancer survivor, or perhaps you are taking part in memory or celebration of someone who has been touched by the disease. Your personal motivation could make your story stronger for the local press. If you have had a personal experience of cancer and you are interested in helping Cancer Research UK with publicity, please let us know by emailing [email protected] How are you going to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer? Will you be sponsored by family, friends and work colleagues? Will you charge admission if you are holding a fundraising event? Are you going to ask the public for donations? Perhaps you have set up a Just Giving page, whatever option you choose make sure you flag up this information to the journalist or include it in your press release.
    [Show full text]
  • Paula Tann Editor​ A​ Vid
    Agent: Giusy Sciacca [email protected] 020 7199 3863 Paula Tann Editor​ ​Avid Entertainment Great British Menu, Series 14 & 14 Optomen BBC2 9 x 60 min and 4 x 30 min Entertainment The nation's top chefs compete to cook at a Banquet by cooking themed dishes. Snackmasters Optomen Channel 4 2 x 60 min Entertainment 2 top chefs compete to make a perfect replica of a popular snack. BAFTA Nominated 2020 Love Your Garden Spun Gold BBC1 2 x 60 min Factual Entertainment Alan Titchmarsh and his team transform the gardens of deserving people. The One Show BBC BBC 30 / 60 min Entertainment Weekly topical magazine-style show featuring a mix of stories followed by discussions with reporters, experts and special guests. Sun, Sea and Selling Houses Ricochet Channel 4 45 min Entertainment Series following two British families who have set up estate agencies in Spain. Sun, Sea and Brides To Be Nimble Dragon Channel 4 45 min Entertainment Series following wedding planners on the island of Cyprus as they arrange the dream weddings in the sun for British couples. Garden Rescue, Series 1- 3 Spun Gold TV BBC 1 14 x 60 min Entertainment Charlie Dimmock and award-winning designers the Rich Brothers, compete to design the gardens of homeowners around the country. My Kitchen Rules 7 Wonder Channel 4 3 x 60 min Entertainment Competitive cooking show judged by Glynn Purnell and Rachel Allen in which amateur cooks from across the country battle it out to win £10,000. Uniting creative minds Agent: Giusy Sciacca [email protected] 020 7199 3863 Paula Tann Editor​ ​Avid Tony Robinson’s Coast to Coast Full Fat TV Channel 5 60 min Entertainment A hands-on travelogue in which Tony Robinson dons his walking boots to explore the 200-mile coast-to-coast route across the north of England from St Bee’s Beach in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay on the Yorkshire coast.
    [Show full text]
  • Stand up to Cancer 2012 & 2014: the Medical Telethon As UK Public
    CST 11.2 | Charlesworth | 1 Stand Up to Cancer 2012 & 2014: the medical telethon as UK public service broadcasting in a neo-liberal age. Diane Charlesworth University of Lincoln, UK Abstract In a fragmenting attention economy, the stakes for television and for the public service broadcaster are particularly high. This article looks at the different strategies at play in the British broadcaster C4’s adaptation of the US-originated Stand Up to Cancer telethon format to present its particular voice and brand in this ecology. This intervention into the politics of medicine is analysed in relation to the discourses of neo-liberalism which, it is argued, have increasingly become part of the mode of address of British factual television content and have increasingly defined the working of the country’s national health system. Keywords Telethon; UK public service broadcasting; television personality; comedy; cancer. The UK public service broadcaster Channel Four (hereafter: C4) has in recent years been instrumental in making medical issues and debates about health a key strand of its factual television provision commissioned from the UK independent production sector. Some programmes have approached the issue tangentially. So, for example, some of the campaign documentaries by the television chef, Jamie Oliver (Jamie’s School Dinners (2005) and Jamie’s Ministry of Food (2008)), have looked, in the former, at the impact of government policy on the provision of school dinners on children’s food awareness, health and CST 11.2 | Charlesworth | 2 concentration and, in the latter, linked the cooking ability of parents to the general health and well being of families and the larger community.
    [Show full text]
  • Paula Tann Editor Avid
    [email protected] 020 7199 3850 Paula Tann Editor Avid Entertainment Great British Menu, Series 14 & 14 Optomen BBC2 9 x 60 min and 4 x 30 min Entertainment The nation's top chefs compete to cook at a Banquet by cooking themed dishes. Snackmasters Optomen Channel 4 2 x 60 min Entertainment 2 top chefs compete to make a perfect replica of a popular snack. BAFTA Nominated 2020 Love Your Garden Spun Gold BBC1 2 x 60 min Factual Entertainment Alan Titchmarsh and his team transform the gardens of deserving people. The One Show BBC BBC 30 / 60 min Entertainment Weekly topical magazine-style show featuring a mix of stories followed by discussions with reporters, experts and special guests. Sun, Sea and Selling Houses Ricochet Channel 4 45 min Entertainment Series following two British families who have set up estate agencies in Spain. Sun, Sea and Brides To Be Nimble Dragon Channel 4 45 min Entertainment Series following wedding planners on the island of Cyprus as they arrange the dream weddings in the sun for British couples. Garden Rescue, Series 1- 3 Spun Gold TV BBC 1 14 x 60 min Entertainment Charlie Dimmock and award-winning designers the Rich Brothers, compete to design the gardens of homeowners around the country. My Kitchen Rules 7 Wonder Channel 4 3 x 60 min Entertainment Competitive cooking show judged by Glynn Purnell and Rachel Allen in which amateur cooks from across the country battle it out to win £10,000. Uniting creative minds [email protected] 020 7199 3850 Paula Tann Editor Avid Tony Robinson’s Coast to Coast Full Fat TV Channel 5 60 min Entertainment A hands-on travelogue in which Tony Robinson dons his walking boots to explore the 200-mile coast-to-coast route across the north of England from St Bee’s Beach in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay on the Yorkshire coast.
    [Show full text]