Engaging with the Public to Combat Misinformation: our Job as Statisticians and Data Scientists?

Oregon Convention Center 

Room: CC-F150 

Over the last several years, topics such as the COVID pandemic, climate change, and vote counting have been widely discussed on social media. Many conversations held online have included misinformation and been stymied by lack of understanding, and this forum has in many ways served to deepen polarization. In this panel session, we will discuss the role that we as statisticians should have in engaging with the public, via social media or otherwise, on topics in the mainstream that involve data. Using specific social media examples as starting points, panelists, including experts in statistics, epidemiology, and science communication, will consider questions such as:
1. What, if any, responsibilities do statisticians and data scientists have to engage with the public on questions that concern all of us and involve data?
2. How can we best carry out any responsibilities we have, and what risks are there in doing so?
3. What support or training do we need to carry out those responsibilities, and what resources exist to support these efforts?
The goal of this session is to generate a discussion about these issues, not to answer all questions raised. Thoughts from the audience will be welcome and will be solicited via online polls with multiple-choice and open-ended questions. We expect this session to be lively and engaging.

Yes

Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences

Section on Statistics in Epidemiology

Social Statistics Section