Misinformation

      If knowledge is the soil from which all human endeavors grow, then our modern society has sprung from field upon field of scientific discovery. Science has cultivated much of the progress our species has made over the past few centuries – allowing us to treat diseases, build computers and visit other worlds. But is trust in the scientific way of thinking – which has been so important since the Enlightenment – eroding away? The director general of the World Health Organization has described how the world is currently fighting not just the Covid-19 pandemic but also an “infodemic” – where data is distorted and tangled with falsehoods so perniciously that it is causing harm to people’s health and lives. Misinformation about vaccines, for example, has interfered with the uptake of our best defence against the virus, while some people have died after following inaccurate advice or taking fabricated treatments against the virus. There are concerns that the digital ecosyst...