BUT AT THE HEIGHT OF BOTH THE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND
POLARIZED POLITICS, WHAT
INFORMATION GETS SPREAD IS OFTEN
FALSE.
TONIGHT WE HEAR FROM THE AUTHOR
OF AN IMPORTANT ARTICLE FROM OUR
PARTNERS AT WISCONTEXT AND THE
WISCONSIN CENTER FOR
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM.
- THE HEADLINE?
MISINFORMATION AND THE PARANOID
STYLE IN WISCONSIN'S PANDEMIC
POLITICS.
WILL CUSHMAN IS HERE WITH
DETAILS.
THAT'S QUITE A HEADLINE.
IT SAYS IT ALL BECAUSE YOUR
INVESTIGATION SHOWS THAT FALSE
INFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19
CIRCULATES WITH A KIND OF WARP
SPEED ON THE INTERNET,
ESPECIALLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE
FACEBOOK.
SO COULD THAT BE WHAT HELPS
EXPLAIN WISCONSIN'S SURGE RIGHT
NOW?
>> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD
QUESTION, AND I THINK THERE'S A
NUMBER OF FACTORS THAT ARE
BEHIND WISCONSIN'S SURGE RIGHT
NOW.
AND CERTAINLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST
ONES IS THE FACT THAT THERE IS
STILL A SIZABLE PORTION OF THE
POPULATION THAT ISN'T ADHERING
TO PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE OR TO WEAR
MASKS.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN SOME OF
THESE FACEBOOK GROUPS THAT WE
LOOKED AT, REALLY LARGE FACEBOOK
GROUPS THAT HAVE LARGE
FOLLOWINGS IN WISCONSIN.
ONE OF THEM HAS OVER 120,000
MEMBERS.
THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY PRETTY
POA
POLITICALLY MOTIVATING
MISINFORMATION.
ANY MISINFORMATION THAT'S DOWN
PLAYING THE VIRUS IS POTENTIALLY
GOING TO HELP CONVINCE SOME
PEOPLE THAT THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE
TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE OR WEAR
MASKS OR DO OTHER THINGS TO SLOW
THE SPREAD.
OF THE DISEASE.
>> YOU SAID PRESIDENT TRUMP IS
THE MOST PROMINENT PURVEYOR OF
INACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE
DISEASE.
THIS WEEK, SENATOR RON JOHNSON
ALSO SAID THAT WE WERE
FLATTENING THE CURVE.
SO WHAT ROLE DOES POLARIZED
POLITICS PLAY IN ALL OF THIS?
>> IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTATE
THE ROLE OF REALLY TOXIC
POLITICS AN THE SPREAD OF
MISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID.
IT'S NO SECRET THAT THE PANDEMIC
FIGURES PROMINENTLY IN REALLY
PRETTY DIVISIVE ELECTION YEAR
AND CAMPAIGN SEASON.
AND I THINK WE'RE FINDING THAT
THAT MIXTURE OF KIND OF THE
ANXIETY AND THE FEAR SURROUNDING
THE PANDEMIC, ALONG WITH THE
ANXIETY OF AN UNCERTAIN
POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT IS REALLY
HAVING PRETTY NEGATIVE EFFECTS
IN TERMS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE'S
WILLINGNESS TO LISTEN TO AND
SPREAD FALSE AND MISLEADING
INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIRUS.
>> NOW, YOU JUST SPOKE ABOUT HOW
THERE ARE FACEBOOK GROUPS WITH A
LOT OF MEMBERS THAT ORIGINATED
IN WISCONSIN.
IS THERE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT
THIS MISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID
IS MORE RAMPANT IN WISCONSIN
THAN ELSEWHERE?
I'M REALLY TRYING TO JUST WRAP
MY HEAD AROUND WHAT'S HAPPENING
IN WISCONSIN, YOU KNOW?
>> SURE.
YEAH.
AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD
QUESTION.
AND I GUESS I WOULD SAY I'M NOT
AWARE OF ANY EVIDENCE THAT WOULD
INDICATE THAT THE MISINFORMATION
ENVIRONMENT IN WISCONSIN IS ANY
WORSE THAN IT IS ANYWHERE ELSE.
IT'S A PROBLEM REALLY EVERYWHERE
EVERYWHERE.
IN MY REPORTING, I EVEN LOOKED
AT MISINFORMATION SPREADING ON
SOCIAL MEDIA IN CHINA.
SO THIS IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM.
IT'S HAPPENING IN INDIA AND
EUROPE AS WELL.
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
SO I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT
WISCONSIN IS UNIQUE IN THIS
MISINFORMATION ENVIRONMENT
SURROUNDING THE PANDEMIC.
BUT ESPECIALLY AS CASES SURGE
RIGHT NOW, THE MISINFORMATION IS
QUITE PROBLEMATIC HERE LOCALLY.
>> LET'S GET A SENSE OF WHAT
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KIND OF
MOST OUTLANDISH PIECES OF
INFORMATION THAT HEALTH
OFFICIALS OR DOCTORS YOU'VE
INTERVIEWED HAVE HEARD ABOUT?
>> A LOT OF THE MORE OUTLANDISH
INFORMATION SURROUND THE USE OF
FACE MASKS.
THAT ARE CONSPIRACY THEORIES THEORIES
LINKING FACE MASKS TO SAIS SAY
TANNISM.
THAT'S CLEEFERL CLEARLY NOT ACCURATE.
THERE ARE PRETTY EGREGIOUS
CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUT THE
PANDEMIC.
BUT THEN ALSO MISINFORMATION
THAT LEVERAGES CONFUSION OR EVEN
DISCREPANCIES THAT PEOPLE MIGHT
FIND IN THE COPY COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF
DATA ABOUT THE DISEASE.
SOMETIMES THAT DATA CAN BE
REALLY CONFUSING AND DIFFICULT
TO STRAIGHTEN OUT, ESPECIALLY AS
IT'S BEING PUMPED OUT SO
QUICKLY.
THAT CAN BE A BREEDING GROUND
FOR MISINFORMATION AS WELL.
>> SO REALLY WITH JUST ABOUT A
HALF A MINUTE LEFT, HAS
DIFFICULT HAS IT PROVED FOR
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS TO
COUNTER THIS MISINFORMATION?
>> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION
AS WELL AND ONE THAT A NUMBER OF
REPORTERS WERE POSING JUST
YESTERDAY DURING A MEDIA
BRIEFING WITH STATE HEALTH
OFFICIAL ONS AND STATE HEALTH
OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT
HAS BEEN DIFFICULT.
CERTAINLY SOME CHANGES TO
ADVICE, ESPECIALLY SURROUNDING
THE USE OF FACE MASKS, MAYBE HAS
MADE IT DIFFICULT TO CONVINCE
PEOPLE OF FACE MASK EFFICACY IN
PARTICULAR.
BUT WE'RE ALSO SEEING LOCAL
HEALTH OFFICIALS IN WISCONSIN
QUITTING THEIR JOBS BECAUSE OF
THE MISINFORMATION THAT'S
SPREADING AND POLITICAL PRESSURE
TO NOT FOLLOW SCIENCE IN THEIR
GUIDELINES.
>> WOW.
WELL, WILL CUSHMAN, THAN