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

Illusory truth effect

The MMR vaccine and autism

The truth sandwich

Conjunction fallacy

David Stillwell on Cambridge Analytica