Media, Medicine & (Mis)information

The media ecosystem informs patient's perceptions of medicine and willingness to engage with healthcare workers. It shapes the practice of medicine and has the potential to fuel epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases and to spread misinformation and disinformation. This class takes on Twitter and other platforms to examine the use of social media by healthcare workers, health activists and anti-science movements, each leveraging platforms to push forward their own agenda. We'll talk to health journalists to understand the challenges of a 24 hour news cycle in covering complex scientific and medical issues and learn how to better share our stories and messages with the media.