Ep. 192: Sander Van Der Linden - Why Misinformation is a Virus, and How to Build Immunity

This episode is all about misinformation, which seems like it is everywhere – it's almost like a virus. In fact, as you will hear in this fascinating conversation, that's exactly how misinformation behaves. My guest is Dr. Sander Van Der Linden who is a Professor of Social Psychology in Society and Director of the Social Decision-Making Lab at the University of Cambridge. He has been described as Cambridge's professor of 'defence against the dark arts'. Sander is the author of the fantastic new book Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity. I don't think that after you listen to him that you will look at misinformation and social media in the same way again. This conversation is also a great reminder that we are all susceptible to misinformation. We spend time covering Sander's background and the origins of the book, why our brains are susceptible to misinformation – which necessarily covers conspiracy theories, how misinformation spreads and the role of social media in that, and finally, how to create a vaccine against it. Sander also shares his experiences working with big tech on this problem. Show notes: Sander Van Der Linden Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity Sander on Twitter Robert Cialdini Dan Ariely Memetics Illusory truth effect The MMR vaccine and autism The truth sandwich Conjunction fallacy David Stillwell on Cambridge Analytica Aleksandr Kogan The Nicola Bulley case Sandy Hook shooting _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Like what you heard? Subscribe and/or leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/1PjLmK Subscribe on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/all-things-risk/the-all-things-risk-podcast Subscribe on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-cattaneo Follow the podcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiskThings Drop us a note: [email protected]  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Our free course module "How to Set Up Any Decision for Success" from our upcoming course How to Make Decisions With Calm and Confidence