The ‘Fault Lines’ report involved a panel of international experts, including leading cognitive scientist Professor Stephan Lewandowsky (School of Psychological Science).
As science and health misinformation become a growing part of people’s lives, the findings show how these issues are having a greater influence on ideology and identity. The report, led by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), also indicates how these threats are contributing to social division and inequality as well as exerting financial pressure on healthcare systems.
The report set out mounting evidence revealing how misinformation has led to illness and death from unsafe interventions and products, vaccine preventable diseases, and flouting of public health measures, with the most vulnerable populations suffering more. For instance, it estimates that science and health misinformation cost the Canadian healthcare system at least $300 million during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first time that the cost of misinformation has been estimated directly.