George Washington University students are pushing back on misinformation about COVID-19 through a new volunteer group that aims to spread evidence-based public health updates using social media channels.
The GW Health Communication Volunteer Corps (HCVC) launched in January, and since then more than 100 students from the Milken Institute School of Public Health have been participating in the effort to fact check and promote information about vaccine availability, vaccine safety and mask wearing on Facebook and Instagram.
Lorien Abroms, professor in the Milken Institute SPH’s Department of Prevention and Community Health, serves as the volunteer corps’ academic sponsor. She is also affiliated with GW’s Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics, which aims to help the public, journalists and policymakers understand digital media’s influence on public dialogue and opinion and develop solutions to disinformation. The IDDP provides funding for the volunteer corps.