Close-up of vaccine being injected into upper arm
(Angelo Esslinger/Pixabay)

UC Davis LIVE to Feature Experts on Combating Vaccine Misinformation Online

  • by Kathleen Holder

Even as vaccines for COVID-19 become more widely available, surveys show that some people may refuse them, often based on misinformation spread over social media. How can public health authorities best combat this kind of misinformation?

Join UC Davis LIVE on Thursday, Jan. 28, to hear from two College of Letters and Science experts in communication who have studied some of the myths around vaccination and ways to fight misinformation.

  • Jingwen Zhang is an assistant professor of communication. Her research interests are in health promotion, social influence and interventions through online communication networks.
  • Magdalena Wojcieszak is a professor of communication. She is interested in how the changing media environment creates both opportunities and challenges for informed publics, tolerant citizenry and responsive governance.

Zhang and Wojcieszak are co-authors of a study published earlier this month on how best to combat vaccine misinformation on social media.

The conversation, hosted by Soterios Johnson, will be streamed live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter beginning at 11 a.m. PST on Thursday, Jan. 28.

Questions can be submitted via Facebook and Twitter either in advance or during the show.

— Andy Fell, News and Media Relations, wrote this article for UC Davis News & Information