The Power of Misinformation- A Two-Part Event

Date: Friday February, 26th  from 1-3 pm EST 

A WebEx live Event 

1pm-2 pm: Misinformation panel featuring Dr. Enders, Dr. Etudo and Dr. Pagoto.

2pm-3pm:Common Cause CT facilitated workshop.

There are two infectious pandemics at work around the globe. One is a biological virus and the other is disinformation that sows fear, distrust, falsehoods, and errors. They are similar in many ways. Both are spread through human interaction and both are having a tremendous impact on health, the economy, and security. One is understood to be “viral” in the literal sense, where the other has information that can be classified as spreading disinformation, misinformation, or rumors in a “viral” fashion via social media.

Over the past year, the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories have flourished throughout the United States which has had many consequences. COVID-19 misinformation has led to unwarranted deaths globally. Election misinformation led to the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

The panelists are:

Dr. Sherry Pagoto- Director, UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media & Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Pagoto’s expertise lies in the intersection of behavioral science and health.

Dr. Adam Enders- Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Louisville. One of Dr. Ender’s main focuses of research is on the effect of conspiracy thinking on public opinion and misinformation.

Dr. Ugochukwu Etudo- Assistant Professor of Operations and Information Management at UConn Business School. Dr. Etudo’s research is focused on tracking the propagation of organizational messaging on the Internet.

This is also an honors event.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email Rebecca at uconn.co.politicaleg@gmail.com