🔒 The Misinformation Massacre: Is Public Health Targeting the Wrong Enemy?

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*Bonus Episode for Subscribers*

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks dives into the "War on Misinformation" and unravel its complexities. 

Is misinformation truly an "infodemic," like a virus infecting our brains? Is the militaristic approach to misinformation missing the mark? 

Here we explore how misinformation is policed online, the rise of fact-checkers, and some of the biggest misinformation scandals of our time, including the opioid epidemic and the tobacco industry's attempts to define "sound science" while squelching the truth about second-hand smoke as a carcinogen.

Could our obsession with debunking and banning misinformation be a costly, unwinnable war? If we cannot agree on a definition of "misinformation," is this a wise public health battle to pursue, especially given the historical shortage of funding and staff? What roles should fact-checkers, tech companies, and governments play in policing knowledge, particularly in America, a country that deeply values personal liberties? Dr. Eeks also shares her views from working in the field of public health and a few personal anecdotes, including her perspective on how religious information compares to misinformation and how nuns served as her fact-checkers growing up.

We also highlight the blurred lines between truth and deception in health and geopolitics. From covert anti-vaccine propaganda campaigns to the false statistics that fueled the opioid crisis, Dr. Eeks asks: Can any one entity be trusted to define what’s true? Additionally, we will review expert insights from a previous podcast guest to better understand what’s truly at stake in this ongoing battle.

Subscribe and tune in for a deep dive into how misinformation has become a defining issue of our time and what it means for the future of public health and freedom of thought. Your freedom of thought, to be exact! 

*Disclaimer: This podcast consists entirely of my own thoughts and does not reflect the views of anyone or any organization I work with or consult for.

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