Grant: Science Up First: Together Against Misinformation

The spread of misinformation has emerged as a defining issue of our era. Misinformation can impact an individual's ability to make informed choices about their health. ScienceUpFirst helps provide clarity by providing accessible science-backed information thatenables informed decisions that can ultimately result in better health and health outcomesand more informed public discourse. ScienceUpFirst serves the general public across Canada who on average spend over 2 hours a day on social media. Within this broad group, the initiative aims to (1) engage and co-create content with equity deserving communities, Indigenous, Black and South Asian communities, (2) specifically address the needs of Quebec and Francophone audiences across Canada, (3) expand reach into younger demographics (18-24). Fueled by a large network of scientists, experts, science communicators, and community partners, ScienceUpFirst combines expert scientific knowledge with social media know-howto create engaging content. Accurate, accessible, timely, and shareable content is shared onTwitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok, and increasingly through in-person events. Ourapproach is grounded in scientifically-backed best practices such as thoughtful debunkingstrategies, providing credible scientific information through culturally aligned messages andmessengers, as well as prebunking, aimed at improving people’s ability to spot misinformation. To date, ScienceUpFirst has been enormously successful and effective in addressing the spread of misinformation (e.g., #ScienceUpFirst and #LaSciencedAbord hashtags have been shared to a combined audience of over 858 million, and have garnered over 980,000engagements i.e., shares, comments), while simultaneously bridging the gap between thepublic's needs and scientific expertise. ScienceUpFirst/LaSciencedAbord is strategically positioned to expand more deeply into other areas of health misinformation, such as thoserelated to mental health and climate change.