Cancelled!

Thursday, Nov 28
5:00 – 6:30 PM,

Buchanan Tower 1112

Alberto Lusoli, Deputy Director, Digital Democracies Institute, Simon Fraser University

“Conflict, Authenticity, and the Circulation of Mis- and Dis-information Biomanufactured Products”

Public trust is vital to the uptake of biomanufactured products such as vaccines. Trust in such products is typically associated with the information available about them, especially as communicated by manufacturers and public health authorities. However, it is assumed that a lack of high-quality information, or the circulation of mis- and dis-information, is the foundation of distrust in such products. Yet, distrust is also influenced by social, cultural, political, and historical factors that cannot be resolved just by providing “better” information and the verification of facts. Strengthening trust mechanisms and ensuring that authoritative information is recognized more widely as authentic is vital to fostering public trust in medical services and biomanufactured products.

Alberto Lusoli is the Deputy Director of the Digital Democracies Institute and a SSHRC Postdoctoral research fellow. His research develops at the intersection of media industry studies and critical data studies. Through his work, he analyzes how the diffusion of digital means of production affects cultural expression and reshapes creative labour. At the DDI, he co-leads the Bridge Research Consortium project, a research initiative bringing together leading researchers from across Canada to better understand and support public trust in, and equitable access to, vaccines and other immune-based innovations.