In an era of misinformation and fake news, understanding and countering messages of climate denial and delay is essential to communicating the need for climate action. While climate deniers may be a minority of the population, neutralizing their influence on the majority and stopping the spread of misinformation is imperative. Scientist and educator John Cook uses research, humor, art, and critical thinking to arm the public with awareness of the techniques used to mislead and provide tools for effectively responding to science denial. Cook will discuss his research into methods to combat misinformation and his innovative application of that research to the creation of cartoons and games that creatively teach critical thinking skills.
Dr. John Cook is a research fellow at the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University, Australia, and founder of the award-winning website Skeptical Science. His acclaimed book Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change: How to Understand and Respond to Climate Science Deniers and the Cranky Uncle game app reveal climate change denial techniques and offer the reader or user tools to develop critical thinking and combat misinformation. Cook co-authored the college textbooks Climate Change: Examining the Facts and Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis, and the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand. His text Consensus Handbook: Why the scientific consensus on climate change is important is available online from the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.