8. March 2024 | Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour, Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Forschung

Scientists as Superheroes?

"Scientists as Superheroes? Communicating Complexity during COVID-19" is the title of a new study investigating the complexity of communication during the coronavirus pandemic. One of the authors is Finja Augsburg, a member of the "UncertainTEAM" project at the Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour at the University of Erfurt.

Since spring 2020, COVID-19 has characterised social, political and scientific discourse worldwide. Particularly at the height of the pandemic, scientists were confronted with the expectation of informing an unsettled public about acute health-related issues and providing simple explanations and quick answers to complex questions.

The development of scientific knowledge was characterised by unprecedented speed, dynamism and uncertainty, which made it difficult for researchers to act successfully as communicators. The case study addresses precisely this dual function and, from an ethical perspective, encourages reflection and discussion on the role of scientists using the example of COVID-19 and the associated debate about nanoparticles in mRNA vaccines.

Link to the case study:
Finja Augsburg, Leah Ransom & Scott R. Stroud
Scientists as Superheroes? Communicating Complexity during COVID-19.
Centre for Media Engagement, 2024
https://mediaengagement.org/research/scientists-as-superheroes/