STRATEGIES TO INCREASE GEOSCIENTIFIC ONLINE PRESENCE TO MITIGATE MISINFORMATION ABOUT EARTHQUAKES

On December 28, 2019 a M 4.7 earthquake started an ongoing sequence in the SW part of Puerto Rico. Then on January 7, 2020 a M 6.4 earthquake—the strongest in more than a century—shook the country, causing numerous buildings to collapse, destruction of main streets, and forcing citizens to move to makeshift camps. Soon after the sequence started, numerous messages containing text, videos and audios containing misinformation were propagated through social media and messaging apps among citizens. These messages included inaccurate information about the causes of the earthquakes and when the next one would happen, among other things.

In this talk, we will present a case study of how scientists and science communicators can collaborate to mitigate misinformation. Specifically, we will discuss how geoscientists partnered with CienciaPR (a non-profit organization focused on promoting science education and scientific careers) to draft and publish lay articles about earthquake science topics in El Nuevo Día, Puerto Rico newspaper of record. We will describe the process of writing, editing, and publishing these articles. We will discuss the lessons-learned from this collaboration and how they might be applied in other contexts, as well as additional strategies to help geoscientists effectively engage non-experts with science, especially following a natural disaster.