The University of Illinois Springfield Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Community Health Roundtable will host a free virtual public webinar titled “Overcoming Misinformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mainstream and Social Media, Public Health, and Outreach to the General Public and Disadvantaged Populations” at Noon Friday, Nov. 19 via Zoom.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the ability of government and public health officials to effectively communicate complex COVID-19 information to a diverse public audience. At the same time, multiple other common sources of information (and misinformation) have caused confusion and mistrust of official messaging. Expert panelists will discuss the roles of public health officials, mainstream and social media, and efforts to counter misinformation throughout the population. 

Panelists include Gail O'Neil, director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health; Randy Eccles, general manager of NPR Illinois; Katrine Wallace, epidemiologist and adjunct assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health; and Matt Yarnell, the director of the Office of Community Initiatives at the SIU School of Medicine. The webinar will be hosted by Dr. David Steward, chair of the Community Health Roundtable, and the discussion will be moderated by Molly Lamb, executive director of the UIS Center of State Policy and Leadership.

In order to attend the event, please register online at go.uis.edu/COVIDwebinar. A Zoom link will be emailed to those who register.

For more information, contact Molly Lamb at 217-206-8622 or mehle01s@uis.edu.