Blog Post
Jaigris Hodson, Canada Research Chair in Digital Misinformation, Polarization and Online Anti-Social Media at Royal Roads University, describes our current moment as an “information syndemic,” the aggregation of three concurrent epidemics (misinformation, polarization, and online harassment) that interact with each other and are exacerbated by social, environmental, and structural factors to create a burden greater than the sum of their parts.
“They’re like force multipliers,” Hodson explains. “You can’t just address polarization or online harassment in isolation, because the other two issues will mean it’ll just pop right back up. It’s kind of like whack-a-mole.”
The dynamics work in multiple directions. Polarization drives people to share misinformation that supports their worldview. Misinformation deepens polarization by creating fundamentally different understandings of reality. Online harassment silences evidence-based voices and pushes people into tight-knit communities where misinformation goes unchallenged.
“It’s so important to aggregate the views of a variety of experts from different parts of the country, from different political backgrounds, from different institutions. This process is the process that we need for our times.”
Rebuilding Trust, One Conversation at a Time
If the problem is syndemic, Hodson argues, solutions must be systemic. Their current research includes developing an AI chatbot to train physicians in vaccine conversations—a challenge sitting at the intersection of all three forces.
The chatbot helps doctors practice communication techniques shown to be effective: listening to patients’ concerns, reflecting them back, and lowering the temperature. “It’s in our relationships with each other that we will hopefully be able to regain some trust,” Hodson says. If successful, the model could help people have better conversations about other polarizing topics, from climate change to contentious policy issues.
A Model for Evidence in Polarized Times
Reflecting on their involvement with the CCA, Hodson has seen how rigorous, diverse expert review can cut through polarization. “It’s so important to aggregate the views of a variety of experts from different parts of the country, from different political backgrounds, from different institutions. This process is the process that we need for our times.”
While clear-eyed about challenges ahead, Hodson finds hope in the CCA model. By bringing diverse experts together to build consensus, then sending them into their communities, the CCA creates ripples of trust through personal relationships. “It’s in those closer relationships when we’re talking to people we know, where we really have the opportunity to make a difference. That is why I can maintain hope.”