Science Communication: Communicating Trustworthy Information in the Digital World

About this course

In a world of information overload, how does one find reliable information? Science is supposed to be the answer to our society's complicated challenges. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted, not understanding what is fake news, misinformation or what is fact may lead to widespread public mistrust, or turn science into fuel for conspiracy theories or propaganda. Scientific findings are prone to change, making it difficult to effectively communicate them to the public. This fosters broad public skepticism towards major institutions, from the government to media to science. So, how can we communicate science effectively? And how can we rebuild trust in science? As a result, it is critical that we reconsider our science communication practices to recover public trust. This course offers a current overview of science communication. We cover a wide range of topics like fake news, mis- or disinformation, but also how to combat these practices. We explore how major stakeholders (scientists, policymakers, science communicators and citizens) can work together to improve science communication. And we tackle how people and organizations can earn and maintain public trust via effective science communication. We recommend this course to scientists, journalists, policymakers or any learners interested in science communication. More information can be found at www.trescaproject.eu (This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 872855.)

Course objectives

• Reevaluate current science communication practices
• Discuss methods to combat misinformation
• Engage with stakeholders to enhance public understanding of science