As Australia faces an increased threat from biosecurity challenges, we depend more than ever on people adopting good biosecurity behaviours. However, people experienced in managing biosecurity issues know that misinformation poses a serious threat to this system, potentially compromising the very behaviours that keep Australia safe.
This program aims to understand how misinformation in Australia’s contemporary communication environment could undermine our country’s plant biosecurity future, potentially putting livelihoods and entire industries at risk.
Aim: This program aims to investigate many aspects of Australia’s current and future plant biosecurity misinformation challenges. These include whether professional biosecurity communicators endorse new approaches to pre-emptively build social resilience to misinformation, how misinformation can lead to harm and what those harms are, whether agencies with biosecurity related responsibilities can use theory-based ways to encourage risk mitigating behaviours through mass communication, and measuring the social factors among Australia’s population that are thought to make some people particularly susceptible to sharing harmful misinformation with other people.
By doing this the program aims to make Australia better prepared to respond effectively to misinformation threats during biosecurity crises, protect our agricultural industries and communities from the harmful effects of false information, and maintain public trust in evidence-based biosecurity measures that safeguard our plant industries and food security.
Meet the Postdoctoral Research Fellow on this project
Dr Matthew S. Nurse
Dr Matthew S. Nurse is a social scientist with particular expertise and experience in science communication. He researches misinformation about science with an interest in understanding who shares misinformation with other people, and in investigating how misinformation may – or may not – lead to harm.
He has extensive professional experience in strategic communication leadership roles in public policy organisations and two decades of practical communication campaign and media experience.
His other research interests include communication strategy, emergency communication and understanding audiences for science using a wide range of social science methods and perspectives.
Also on this project is Associate Professor Will Grant, Australian National University.
Approach
This program uses a diverse range of social science methods to achieve its aim. These include quantitatively measuring and comparing social factors, qualitatively understanding the exposure and flow of false information within communities, and mixed-methods approaches designed to obtain a deeper understanding of our country’s biosecurity communication and misinformation challenges and strategic communication responses.
Want to know more? Contact matthew.nurse@anu.edu.au.