Before the pandemic, Laurel Bristow was an infectious disease researcher studying respiratory pathogens at Emory University’s Vaccine Center.
In March, her lab paused its work because of the pandemic. Within days, Bristow began posting Instagram videos from her cheerful kitchen explaining the science behind the coronavirus headlines. She struck a nerve: Her account quickly grew from a few hundred to 99,000 followers.
It’s not hard to see why she’s popular—Bristow deftly unpacks complex scientific concepts. She explains why critics of masks are wrong. She handily dispatches with conspiracy theories. She sheds light on the mysterious vaccine development process. She emphasizes the connection between science and the struggle for racial justice. And she does it all with millennial sass, the occasional silly filter, and cameos from her cat.
Through her posts, she’s won her followers’ trust. “We’ve built social media platforms in a way that people trust individuals accounts and are more inclined to listen to what they’re saying—whether it’s right or wrong—than they are to a government agency that feels outdated and inaccessible,” she says.
To keep reading this article, click here.
Comments
Post a Comment