Are Birds Real? The Fight Against Misinformation with Professor Timothy Caulfield

Physician's Guide to Doctoring with Bradley B. Block, MD

Professor Timothy Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in health law and policy, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and a research director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. However, he is most well-known for being a misinformation debunker, having written several bestselling books, including The Cure for Everything; The Vaccination Picture; The Science of Celebrity… Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?; and, most recently, Relax: A Guide to Everyday Health Decisions with More Facts and Less Worry. He is also the host and co-producer of the award-winning documentary TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which aired in over 60 countries and was on Netflix.

We start off by answering the question, “are birds real?” and the answer may surprise you. It surprised me. Really. We also talked about the lure of celebrity misinformation, why it is critical that we join the fight against misinformation, leveraging the power of cognitive bias to disseminate correct information, and why he would not have gone on the Doctor Oz Show.

Over the past several years, Caulfield has been involved in a variety of interdisciplinary research endeavors that have allowed him to publish more than 350 articles and book chapters. His research focuses on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, and the public representations of science and health policy issues. The recipient of numerous academic and writing awards, Caulfield is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.