Can this tool really fight conspiracy theories?

A new study shows promise

In 2022, I gave an online presentation to the WHO comms team about combating health misinformation.

During the Q&A, one member asked me how to fight the torrent of anti-vax and other misinformation they were inundated with. I went silent for a moment. If the WHO can’t figure this out, we’re in a precarious position as a society.

And yet it’s a question I’m often asked on podcasts and by the media. Because I’ve devoted much of my career to fighting health misinformation, some people think I have an idea of how to actually change minds.

There’s a few reliable techniques, but they mostly depend on personal relationships. When it comes to the vacuum that is the internet and social media, the dynamics change.

But to be fair, our work at Conspirituality has helped change some minds. We’ve received messages from dozens of anti-vaxxers or vaccine skeptics who, by listening to our segments and expert interviews, realized that vaccines are not the nefarious agents misinformation spreaders make them out to be.

Instead, they now understand that vaccines are one of the greatest public health interventions ever created, one facet of true preventive medicine.

But let’s be honest: dozens of people pale in comparison to the outsized impact of anti-vaxxers and their followings of millions. Polling found that 37% of Americans who have gotten a Covid vaccine in the past now say they will never get another. Kindergarten vaccination rates have dropped for two consecutive years in America.

How do you combat such a deluge of fear-mongering, conspiracy thinking, and outright fabrication of data?

A new study looks at one potential way of communicating through the noise—with AI chatbots.

The findings are hopeful, though I’m personally skeptical it can scale. That said, it’s refreshing to see one potential path forward.

Let’s dive into the study.