What is driving the novel coronavirus infodemic? Fear, uncertainty and opportunistic marketing are all playing a role. But it is also a legacy of our growing distrust of science, experts and health-care institutions. Not only is this the era of misinformation, it is also the era of distrust.
A recent study found that after years of relative stability, 2019 witnessed a “significant drop in Canadians’ trust in major institutions, organizations, leaders and many sources of information.” This data is consistent with research done at the international level. The 2020 edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer concluded that the “global trust crisis is deepening,” making it more “difficult to collaborate and take collective action to solve large, pressing problems.”
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