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from my desk – new book and podcast, all about COVID, and the psychology of fake news

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Today, I just wanted to update you with some news.

First of all, my new book is shipping in next week. Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Media and Technology is available for pre-order now on the Routledge website. There is currently a 20% discount too! which means you can pick it up for about £15 or €17 while the promotion lasts.

The book is an edited collection of previously published chapters which we’ve brought together to explore important themes in psychological science and media studies that engage with people’s experience of the pandemic. That means it examines topics from fake news, to social media, conspiracy theories, belonging, online emotional lives, relationship formation and identity.

Secondly, I am dipping my toe into the wonderful world of podcasting, with a series of interviews based around the new book. A little bit odd to be ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’ having been interviewed many times over the years but I had a lot of fun recording the first episode with Prof Norbert Schwarz of USC. I hope to have more interviews with the authors of the other chapters coming in due course too.

Prof Schwarz is a co-author of the first chapter in Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Media and Technology – ‘When (Fake) News Feels True: Intuitions of Truth and the Acceptance and Correction of Misinformation”.

We had very interesting and I daresay profound discussion on the psychology of fake news – everything from the design of social media services, to media literacy to psychological science and much more beyond.

You can watch the full interview now on YouTube and you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1CKx1vfxn2Bsqhttps://open.spotify.com/show/1CKx1vfxn2Bsqg8thunRCY and iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/psychological-insights-for-understanding-covid-19-media/id1543411084. (NB if the interview isn’t there right now it should appear fairly soon so do please subscribe (and share!) and it should pop into your feed in the coming days).

Many thanks and hope you are all safe and well after this awful year,

Ciarán

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