I know it has been a LONG time since I’ve posted to my blog, but things have been a bit busy.
As you some of you may know, I’ve spent most of my time over the past 4 years on vaccine confidence and misinformation. What you may not have heard, is that I’m writing a book to help people have productive conversations with misinformed people they know because that is a gap in the communications efforts to combat misinformation. The plan is to have the book available in August, and below is information about:
- The book’s contents, including some of the tips and strategies for reversing and preventing misinformation;
- The Kickstarter campaign; (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reversing-misinfo-24/reversing-misinformation)
- A 6-minute video about vaccine misinformation and resistance;
- Links to the podcast/radio interview I did in May; and
- Sample text for social media and emails.
I strongly believe that if we don’t act soon – to both reverse misinformation and prevent it from spreading in the future – we will be unprepared for future microbial and civil disruption outbreaks.
And in case you missed it, I thought you’d be interested in this part of the remarks President Biden made Sunday night:
“Here in America, we need to get out of our silos, where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours.”
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/07/14/remarks-by-president-biden-in-address-to-the-nation/
You may have also read that after the shooting on Saturday, individuals at the rally accused the media of being responsible and shouting “this is your fault” and “your next.” https://www.cnn.com/trump-supporters-blame-media/index.html
Anything you can do to raise awareness about the toxicity of misinformation and promote the book’s Kickstarter campaign will be terrific. (To help with that, below is sample text for social media and emails.)
Please let me know if you want to talk about anything related to misinformation or the book, or if you want more information about the Kickstarter campaign or how to promote it.
The Kickstarter campaign to support the book “Reversing Misinformation: How to help your family, friends, community & world” ends on July 26h. As of July 15th the campaign is at 71% of goal, so any support you can provide will be greatly appreciated. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reversing-misinfo-24/reversing-misinformation.
The book contains specific tips and strategies for having productive conversations with misinformed people:
- Don’t correct someone’s misinformation with actual facts. That leads to counterproductive “my facts v. your facts” argument, and hardens their belief in the misinformation;
- Do engage the person in conversations using non-judgmental questions, which will reveal:
- What individuals and organizations they trust and why;
- What are the sources for their (mis)information; and
- What are their goals and motivations – in general and related to the misinformation
- These structured “motivational-focused conversations” will reduce friction in relationships and loosen a person’s grip on their misinformation
- The book contains insightful vignettes about people who have successfully loosened people’s grip on misinformation so that they became accepting of vaccines
- The book also presents concepts and strategies for how to handle misinformation from people who you don’t know, and how to prevent misinformation from taking hold in your community
- The book also explores other aspects of the toxicity of misinformation (e.g., elections and climate change), and how to reverse and prevent it.
A 6-minute video I did about vaccine resistance and misinformation is now available: https://youtu.be/Xxto9etdDvE. (This video is highlights from a presentation and Q&A I did after a screening of the “Shot in the Arm” documentary.)
The podcast/interview about vaccine misinformation I did, it is still available at the links below.
- https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/evanmbenjamin/episodes/S2E5-Vaccine-Misinformation-with-Dr-Mike-Miller-e2ksv8j
- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/caretalk-with-quick-and-quack/id1715058835
- https://podbay.fm/p/caretalk-with-quick-and-quack
Sample Text for Social Media or Emails to Promote Reversing Misinformation Book & Kickstarter
Help Reverse Misinformation About Vaccines etc.
If you’re like me, and concerned about the spread of toxic misinformation, you should check out Dr. Mike Miller’s upcoming book “Reversing Misinformation: How to Help Your Family, Friends, Community and World.” Information about the book is on the Kickstarter campaign’s page https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reversing-misinfo-24/reversing-misinformation. The book will provide specific techniques and strategies for having productive conversations with misinformed people. The Kickstarter page information about the book, including 2 videos, and in the updates tab are links to a podcast/radio interview and a highlights video from a Q&A session about the book and vaccine resistance and misinformation.
I’m supporting Mike’s efforts because if we don’t continue developing solutions for this growing problem, we’ll continue to be swamped by waves of misinformation. As Mike has noted, “I strongly believe that if we don’t act soon – to both reverse misinformation and prevent it from spreading in the future – we will be unprepared for future microbial and civil disruption outbreaks.” Mike’s book will fill an important need by helping people have productive conversations with misinformed people they know.
After many years working on health care innovations and communications, Mike spent the past 4 years focusing on vaccine misinformation and confidence, so I know he had a great depth of understanding about how to advise and guide people engaged in difficult conversations with misinformed people. You can see more about Mike’s background here: www.linkedin.com/in/michael-miller-consulting2000
#Vaccines #VaccinesSaveLives #Science #PublicHealth @everyone
