“Infodemic” discussion series – Part 1 (Dr. Yamamoto & Dr. Kinoshita)

We invited Dr. Kinoshita and Dr. Yamamoto, who have been a source of information to the Japanese public through COVID-19 crisis by being prominent figures on social media. We conducted a series of discussions to ask them about their perspectives on the challenges in scientific communication.

Part 1 focuses on the common misconceptions around scientific information. As COVID-19 spread across the world, new information came to light, little by little. Unsurprisingly, people were confused, especially when they saw disagreement among “experts” or change in opinion by specific experts as time went on. Dr. Yamamoto and Dr. Kinoshita discuss the nature of scientific information, how best to engage with scientific information, and how to critically absorb information from experts for those who are not trained scientists.

About the panelists

Dr. Takahiro Kinoshita (MD, MPH) is a healthcare data scientist who works in the US. He has actively communicated with the public using social media platforms during the pandemic to build trust in science. He is currently working on a social marketing campaign to increase awareness of the HPV vaccine in Japan.

Dr. Takehito Yamamoto is a surgeon specializing in gastroenterology. He is also known as “Surgeon KEIYU” with a popular twitter account and a blog in which he covers health literacy for the public and patient-doctor communication.