How should you respond when someone is saying something that simply is not true? That was the topic of the session Myth Busting Misinformation: How to Counter Science Denial at IFT First in Chicago this past July. Featured speaker Charlie Arnot, CEO of The Center for Food Integrity, set the stage by outlining the issue: Historically, he explained, mass media didn’t tell us what to think, they told us what to think about, focusing coverage on key topics and bringing in experts, including researchers, to present information.
Enter social media: “In 2004, Facebook was launched, and that fundamentally changed how we communicate,” Arnot said. Gone were the days of the three legacy media companies (ABC, CBS, and NBC) presenting the news to the masses. Today, Arnot noted, “it’s no longer one to many, it’s many to many, many to one.”
This dispersion of authority, he maintained, has created a society in which we no longer rely on science as an overall authority. Instead: "Culturally we rely on those sources that align with our preexisting beliefs…Science is no longer the arbiter of what is and is not true in our society.”
So what to do when faced with someone presenting misinformation, as often occurs in conversations about regulations and safety in the nutritional supplement space? Arnot, tailoring many of his examples to the food scientists in his audience, offered an underlying strategy: Communicate in a way that resonates emotionally.
Pointing to a peer reviewed and published model that shows what it takes to build trust, Arnot explained, “Being able to communicate and connect on values is 3 to 5 times more important than sharing data or science. So if we’re going to compete in this new environment, where truth is truly subjective, and people are able to decide within their own tribe or group what is true for them, we have to find ways to connect with them and resonate emotionally.”
Empowering scientists to connect using values enables them to really be much more impactful, Arnot said. “We have to be willing to adapt and not dig in our heels and say, ‘Well science is what matters.’ ….if you want to be strategic and actually have an impact, you have to find a way to connect on values first, make sure your issues are emotionally resonant, and then share facts and data.” He stressed that it is possible to embrace and validate someone's concerns without validating their misinformation.
To challenge a narrative of misinformation
“In the values based communication training work we do, it’s based on a very simple premise: listen, ask, listen, ask, listen, ask, share,” Arnot explained.
Don’t start by sharing, he said, because it’s not about correcting individuals. “If you say, ‘You're wrong and here’s why,’ you’re going to alienate the person with whom you are engaging. So you have to listen for a point of connection. If you listen, ask, listen, ask, listen, ask, and then share, you will find a point of connection. You’ll find something where you share a concern…it’s about finding that point of connection and then engaging in a meaningful dialogue.”
