What the Fact? Finding the Truth in Disinformation | POF186

How do we make sense of the information we are surrounded by when it’s so divisive, polarizing and confusing? What if we have fallen victim to disinformation and we feel embarrassed that we did? How do we teach our kids the truth if we don’t even know what’s fact or fiction?

My guest is the author of the book, What the Fact and is a medical doctor, journalist, epidemiologist and professor at UCLA so Dr. Seema Yasmin, knows what she’s talking about. Seema is a self-described “former” conspiracy theorist, who is helping us to understand the difference between misinformation and disinformation and how to get to the bottom to find the truth.

What I love about my conversation with Seema is that she understands that disinformation is meant to exploit our fear and she meets that with empathy and understanding (because she’s fallen victim to it too). She also explains how our brains work to seek out information and that can make us fall victim to disinformation, hoaxes and conspiracy theories.

In this episode we also talk about how to discuss differing views with others and have disagreements in a productive way - yes! It's possible!

We all hate being lied to and manipulated and at the same time, we want to be heard! Listening to this episode will help you really understand what’s happening and how you can spot BS (Hint: There is actually a 10-step recipe for disinformation!)

For Dr. Seema’s Key Takeaways: Ten Media Literacy Lessons from What the Fact?!, head to the Parent Toolbox. www.parent-toolbox.com

About Seema Yasmin

Dr. Seema Yasmin is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, medical doctor and Stanford and UCLA professor. Seema served as a disease detective in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the CDC, as a science reporter for The Dallas Morning News and a medical analyst for CNN. The author of five books, her reporting appears in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, WIRED, Scientific American, and on the BBC, NBC and other news networks. Her unique combination of expertise as a dually-trained physician and medical journalist have been called upon by the Vatican, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, and the White House, among others. Seema is director of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative, clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University, and visiting professor of crisis management and communication at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. She trained in journalism at the University of Toronto and in medicine at the University of Cambridge. Her book, What the Fact?! is a navigation guide for teens (and adults!) on how to survive the murky worlds of misinformation and disinformation and how to become savvy consumers of information.

Social Media:

Website: https://seemayasmin.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-yasmin/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/seema.c.yasmin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drseemayasmin/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoctorYasmin

TikTok: @drseemayasmin

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56980654-what-the-fact

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/what-the-fact-finding-the-truth-in-all-the-noise/9781665900034

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/What-Fact-Dr-Seema-Yasmin/dp/1665900032

Thanks for listening! For more on Robbin, her work and free resources, keep reading!

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