Webinar on “The Infodemic : Media Behaviour and Disinformation During Covid19” – 26th June
The Journalism Unit organized the webinar “The Infodemic: Media Behaviour and Disinformation During Covid-19” on the 26th of June, 2021. The webinar is conducted as a part of the webinar series organized by the Journalism Unit on Social, Psychological and Cultural impact on Covid-19. Then webinar series specially focuses on the communication and media related issues and the impact of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka. The webinar series was proposed and conceptualized by the Vice Chancellor, Senior Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne. The Journalism Unit collaborates with the Faculty of Medicine in order to get relevant medical experts as panelists. The objective of the webinar series is to inform public about the Covid-19 impact on the Sri Lankan society. It is also expected to create an interactive space with the interested groups outside the University by sharing the knowledge.
The first webinar was conducted on Zoom with the participation of students, academics, and external participants. The panel was consisted of communication and media experts and medical experts. The panelists of the first webinar were Mr. Wijayananda Jayaweera, Dr. Mahesh Rajasuriya and Mr. Pubudu Sumanasekara. The experts shared their views about the contemporary Sri Lankan media behaviour during Covid-19 anළුd also highlighted the importance of enhancing media literacy of the public. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, Senior Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Senior Professor Lasantha Manawadu also spoke at the webinar. The participants of the webinar were also given the opportunity to ask their questions from the panel. The event was live streamed on the YouTube channel of the Faculty of Arts.
