Covid-19 and information

Available for over a year

World Questions tackles the global issue of Covid-19: not just the disease itself but the information surrounding the pandemic. What should we have known and what questions should have been asked? Sharing information - and understanding the basis of the decisions of the scientists and the politicians - has never been more important or more difficult. So, do we always get the best information? How do we interpret the science and the policies that goes with it? And how does the world’s media respond to a pandemic? How have any of us - politicians, health experts and journalists - communicated with the public? As we try and get to grips with the best way to share information about what is really happening, what’s the best way to deal with “fake news” – is it a major force or a distraction from the crisis? And what’s the best counter to it? Attack it, understand it, or ignore it? In our digital world, can it ever be eradicated or regulated? The BBC’s Media Editor, Amol Rajan, is joined by four leading experts from around the world and members of the public with their questions. The panel: Nick Pickles: Senior Director, Public Policy Strategy and Development, Twitter. Zeynep Tufekci: Sociologist and writer Eliot Higgins: Investigative journalist, founder of Bellingcat Margaret Harris: Spokesperson for the World Health Organisation Producers: Helen Towner and Charlie Taylor Studio Engineers: Ronan Loftus and Duncan Hannant BBC World Questions is a series of international events created in partnership with the British Council. (Photo: A protester holds a placard that says Fake News Is The Real Virus. Credit: Stanton Sharpe/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)