Heidi Julien Discusses the Growing Threat of Unreliable Information Online in Disaster Response
Heidi Julien, professor of information science at the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education, was recently featured in for her expert insights on the alarming rise of online misinformation and its impact on disaster response efforts.
In the article, Julien highlighted the unsettling reality of misinformation becoming the "dangerous new normal" during crises. She emphasized the persistence of this issue, stating,
“It is how life is now, and until somebody sees this as a serious issue that needs to be tackled, I think it’s going to remain the case, because the technologies that allow misinformation to spread are not going away. People are not turning away from them.”
Julien underscored the urgency of addressing this problem through enhanced digital literacy, starting with early education. She advocates for teaching children how to identify factual information and resist misleading or false content from a young age. For adults, she proposed a large-scale public service campaign, inspired by the success of anti-smoking initiatives, to combat misinformation and equip the public with the tools to navigate the digital landscape responsibly.
“Take the public campaign to stop people smoking. That’s the kind of thing that needs to be done,” she argued, calling for collaboration between the government and nonprofit organizations to reach individuals through mass communication and advertisements.
Julien’s work continues to shed light on the critical need for digital literacy in the face of evolving technological challenges. Her contributions remind us that empowering individuals with the skills to critically evaluate online information is a crucial step toward mitigating the harmful effects of misinformation during disasters and beyond.
