How can we use social media to combat misinformation during public health crises? That’s the big question President Gregory L. Fenves asks epidemiologist Laurel Bristow on the first episode of his new podcast, One Big Question, out now.
Bristow, who is a clinical research coordinator at the Emory Vaccine Center’s Hope Clinic, started posting videos on Instagram in 2020 to help people understand how viruses and pandemics function. In the beginning, Bristow had 600 Instagram followers. She’s now amassed almost 440,000 by spreading scientific information about infectious diseases. See for yourself: @laurel__bristow.
Laurel Bristow, a clinical research coordinator at the Emory Vaccine Center’s Hope Clinic, is a self-described ‘baddie for science’ who has amassed a sizable Instagram following by sharing scientific information about infectious diseases.
On each episode of One Big Question, Fenves sits down with Emory authors, inventors, researchers, alumni and more to learn about their experiences and areas of expertise.
The first three episodes will be posted every other Wednesday starting Aug. 31. In addition to Bristow, upcoming episodes feature bestselling author Tayari Jones (Sept. 14), who is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory, and Emory College alumnus Christopher Mims (Sept. 28), who pens the Wall Street Journal tech column, Keywords.
“In recent years, we've unfortunately seen how social media can be used to spread conspiracy theories, misinformation and disinformation,” Fenves says of his conversation with Bristow. “But what about the truth? Laurel has shown that social media, with all of its eccentricities, can also be a powerful medium for truth telling and myth busting.”
Taking science to the people
During the first 18 months of COVID-19, Bristow did just that — she took scholarly work to the people. The self-described “baddie for science” regularly answered people’s questions about masks, variants and vaccines. She also created a document, linked to her account, which she updates as facts evolve.
Bristow’s conversational tone and colorful graphics make the facts seem less daunting. And, in addition to sharing pandemic information, she posts about her motorcycle club, black cat named Moonpie and some of her favorite karaoke songs.
On One Big Question, Fenves asks Bristow, “Scientists learn to speak to other scientists in scientific language with scientific understanding and context. As you think about speaking to a broad audience, how do you put yourself in the frame of mind to talk to somebody in the grocery store or in a movie theater?”
To which Bristow replies in part, “I love infectious disease research, I love learning about it, and I like to teach other people about it because I'm so passionate about it. So, it makes it really easy to communicate what I'm doing with other people, because it comes from a desire that I really want them to understand the way that I understand so that they can feel as passionate about it as I feel.”
Bristow earned her master’s degree in infectious disease control from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. There, she did her thesis research on maternal and neonatal hospital-acquired sepsis in Stone Town, Zanzibar. She has spent the past decade working on public health issues such as HIV, tuberculosis and, now, COVID-19. Prior to coming to Emory four years ago, Bristow was an epidemiologist with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
As the COVID-19 pandemic moves toward endemic, Bristow says she wants to use her platform to educate people about other infectious diseases. She recently expanded to TikTok and Twitter.
“We were talking about HIV recently because of a conspiracy theory about COVID vaccines causing HIV,” says Bristow. “I was explaining stuff and I just casually said, ‘Let me know if you guys want me to talk more about HIV,’ and people were so excited about it. They want to hear about HIV. They want to hear about TB. They want to hear about Ebola.”
Getting people excited about learning is Fenves’ main goal with One Big Question.
“I really just love to learn, and here at Emory I’m fortunate to be surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds in the world,” says Fenves. “This podcast allows me to ask our experts big questions about society, the future, challenges we face and the unexpected, bold, ambitious and brave solutions they’ve discovered for themselves. It’s been fun so far and I look forward to doing more.”
Listen to the full podcast interview. In his new podcast series, President Gregory L. Fenves asks Emory experts big questions about society, the challenges we face, and the unexpected, bold, ambitious and brave solutions they’ve discovered.
The first three episodes will be posted every other Wednesday starting Aug. 31.One Big Question