Let’s talk about #celebrity and the spread of #misinformation. This thread is inspired by @CaulfieldTim’s latest article “Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow made the 2010s the decade of health and wellness misinformation” 1/n nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…
Backstory: In 2014, I did contract research for @GenomeCanada’s Genome Prairie on agriculture, science and public perceptions of biotechnology. This report (below) - including bits on #misinformation - was the outcome. You don't have to read it... 2/n genomeprairie.ca/files/8214/126…
… because in this thread I will summarize the chapter on problems with misinformation. In particular, I will focus on the role that #celebrityinfluence plays in public perceptions of #agriculture. 3/n
As we all know, it is a common part of corporate strategy to employ celebrity and leverage influence as a way to create a salient connection between the celebrity endorser and the brands or products. 4/n
Celebrities have power. The problem is that they often exude that power by endorsing ‘junk science’ and ‘pseudoscience’ 5/n
The celebrity can act both as source and conduit for misinformation ... on anything. When the weight of celebrity is propelling a message or #misinformation forward, it gains even more momentum. 6/n
‘Credibility’ is the believe-ability of sources. Celebrities can appear to be credible experts (despite a lack of credentials) as their credibility (through authority and trust) can be falsely reinforced through repeated exposure to audiences. 7/n
Mass media has brought celebrities into our homes, humanizing them like never before. Society’s closer, more intimate connection to celebrity means ‘buy-in’ into celebrity lifestyles or belief patterns and fulfills a need to tap into that perceived ‘good life’. 8/n
Celebrities bring new social frames of reference: “Motion pictures, television shows and fashion and entertainment magazines present images, icons and stories that give the [public] a [powerful] frame of reference” Hirschman and Thompson (1997) 9/n jstor.org/stable/4189026…
Exacerbating all of this is the cognitive habit to overvalue or overstate expertise - even our own. The Dunning-Kruger Effect is bias wherein “unskilled individuals suffering from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than is accurate...” 10/n
The era we face today is the “death of expertise” - a rejection of knowledge, science and rationality (@RadioFreeTom). It seems like everyone is an expert (particularly celebrities and pop culture icons) in food, agriculture and nutrition except the experts themselves. 11/n 
@RadioFreeTom Dear #Celebrity: As consumers continue to crave a more intimate connection with you, they will buy what you are selling - ideas, products, you name it - tapping into your lifestyle or belief patterns. But at what cost to them and society? ... 12/n
... With great power and influence comes great responsibility. Use your influence for good. Avoid weaponizing misinformation as a way to re-invent your brand - this comes at the expense of public and social health. 13/end #DearCelebrity
