The Infodemic

06/12/20 • 15 min

Stat: 87 percent: Americans who say they are following news about the coronavirus outbreak fairly or very closely.

Story: According to the World Health Organization, people are not only living through an epidemic but also an “infodemic”—a surge of information about COVID-19 that has made it hard for people to know which news and guidance about the virus is accurate. In a conversation with Alan Miller, founder and CEO of the News Literacy Project, we discuss how to sort fact from fiction today.

Stat: 87 percent: Americans who say they are following news about the coronavirus outbreak fairly or very closely.

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Scientists at Work: The Big Idea Between a Small Fish and Heart Disease

Stat: 48% of U.S. adults have cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association.

Story: What do zebrafish have to do with human health? As it turns out, they can help researchers understand how and why heart disease happens. We spoke to Pew biomedical scholar (2002) Steven Farber at the Carnegie Institution for Science to learn more about his work, which is revealing new strategies to combat heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

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The New American Library

Stat: 78 percent: About 8 in 10 adults feel that libraries help them find information that is trustworthy and reliable.

Story: Everybody knows what happened on the Fourth of July, but what about the First of July? That’s the anniversary of America’s first free library. Established in 1731 by Ben Franklin, it marked the democratization of information. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden—the first woman and African American in that role—talks about how libraries and librarians continue that mission to this day.