MythInformed Science
Misinformation isn’t just a problem for governments and health systems. For all kinds of organisations, misinformation erodes trust, derails communication strategies, and undermines hard-won credibility. It can also drive a wedge between families and friends.
MythInformed Science is for leaders and communicators on the front lines of that fight. Each episode, hosts Jamie Brehaut and Justin Presseau sit down with leading experts to have conversations about misinformation: where it comes from, how it spreads, and what actually works to counter it.
Jamie is a psychologist focusing on implementation science, the science of effecting real change in healthcare systems. Justin is basically the same thing, but a newer, better-looking model. Both are senior scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and professors in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa.
This show talks to top people wrestling with the very real problems caused by misinformation. It provides practical intelligence to those responsible for protecting their organizations against an increasingly complex information environment. Every episode ends with clear ideas about how to combat misinformation more effectively.
Produced in collaboration with PodCraft Productions and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
MythInformed Science
Treating Misinformation Like a Public Health Crisis | Dr. Trevor Arnason
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Ottawa's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Trevor Arnason, joins Jamie and Justin to reflect on what five years of COVID has taught public health units about misinformation. He shares how Ottawa Public Health responded in real time to a false claim about a child's death at CHEO, why the legacy of COVID has made vaccine hesitancy harder to address, and why his team now treats misinformation as a public health issue in its own right rather than a problem tied to any single virus or vaccine.
The conversation covers what actually worked during the pandemic: building a trusted social media presence, the underappreciated role of timeliness in countering false claims, and the growing importance of community engagement with populations that don't show up in surveys or on social media.
Book recommendation:
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, by Yuval Noah Harari