News release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

BRIEFING: Rethinking Health Misinformation - a conversation with Professor Heidi Larson

A Special Event from the AusSMC and the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease

The UN and the World Economic Forum list mis- and disinformation in the top five of all global risks, greater than economic downturn and cyber insecurity. But how well are we meeting this misinformation challenge, especially in health, and is it time to rethink our approach?

Join us for a conversation and audience Q&A with Heidi Larson, internationally renowned Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science and Co-Chair of The Lancet's new Commission* on Rethinking Misinformation, Health and Human Security. Bringing together experts across risk science, security studies, social and political science, mathematics, computer science and health, the Commission will examine how mis- and disinformation shape health outcomes, and how they interact with trust and distrust to undermine science and research.

Professor Larson will discuss the current landscape of health misinformation, what lies ahead and what the Commission hopes to achieve.

This is a special event for journalists.

* The Commission is a high-level, multidisciplinary collaboration organised by medical journal The Lancet to address urgent, neglected, or complex challenges in science, medicine, and global health. More information about the Commission is available here.

Speaker:
Heidi Larson is Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science, and Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (with additional roles at the University of Washington, USA, and the University of Antwerp and KU Leuven, Belgium). Professor Larson is a former UNICEF immunisation communications lead and WHO vaccine hesitancy advisor, and authored STUCK: How Vaccine Rumors Start – and Why They Don't Go Away. She was named one of the BBC's 100 most influential women in 2021. Professor Larson is visiting Melbourne as a guest of the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease.

Date: Wed 9th Sept 2026
Start Time: 2:00pm AEST
Duration: Approx 45 min 
Venue: Online - Zoom