COVID 19 & The Infodemic

Marquette University's COVID Conversations

According to the World Health Organization, people are not only living through a pandemic but also an “infodemic” that has made it difficult to know which information and advice about the virus are accurate. In this conversation, Marquette colleagues discuss this infodemic and why it is different from tabloid news and other types of misinformation that have circulated in the past. We also discuss societal and individual ways to deal with the infodemic including our own role in challenging fake news when we encounter it. Participants include:

Valerie Beech, M.S.L.S.- An associate librarian at Raynor Memorial Libraries with research interests in the assessment of freshman English research skills and subject responsibilities in business, advertising, and foreign languages.

Dr. Amrita George- An Assistant Professor in the College of Business with research interests in health information technology, business intelligence and analytics, and emergent technologies.

Dr. Erin Hoekstra- An Assistant Professor in Social and Cultural Sciences with research interests in health and medical sociology, social movements, and social change. She regularly incorporates skill development in information and data literacy as part of her teaching.

Dr. Laurieann Klockow - A virologist in the Biomedical Sciences Department who teaches about microbiology and outbreaks, including a new class focused on understanding Covid-19.