Written by Elena Middlemass

The National Digital Roundtable hosted a discussion at the Embassy of Sweden exploring how to communicate science effectively in today’s fragmented information landscape, where authenticity, storytelling, and strategic partnerships with creators are reshaping public trust. This conversation grew from a close partnership between the National Digital Roundtable, Social Driver, and the Embassy of Sweden, who co-hosted the event to elevate leading voices in science communication.

In the spirit of Alfred Nobel’s belief in the power of knowledge and international scientific cooperation, the National Digital Roundtable convened experts, communicators, and content creators, including Linda Tocchini-Valentini, Communications Officer for the Embassy of Sweden, Brinleigh Murphy-Reuter, Founder & CEO of Science to People, and Elizabeth Houston (@bookersquared), political consultant and commentator, to tackle a pressing challenge: how do we build trust in science when traditional institutions are losing their voice and the public is turning to social media for information? 

The Creator Economy Meets Science Communication:

A central theme emerged early: “Americans are not looking to the institutional voice anymore.” Instead, one participant noted, many are getting their information from creators on Instagram and TikTok, especially young people. This wave of anti-institutionalism presents a challenge and an opportunity. For institutions, partnering with creators who already have trust and reach rather than investing in in-house content creation is the smarter strategy. Real people telling real stories resonate in ways that institutional messaging simply cannot. “Creators have so much trust from the public because they are the public,” one participant explained. They speak directly, authentically, and without talking down to their audiences.

However, institutions often tiptoe around social media. They hesitate to leverage creators’ influence, fearing that even a minor mismatch in tone might reflect poorly on their brand. What institutions overlook is that imperfection is a creator’s superpower. The ones who say, drop the occasional swear word, feel real, and that raw authenticity makes people lean in, connect, and trust them.

The roundtable participants came to a shared conclusion that content creators should be seen as proxies for institutions, and as a part of this partnership, they should be paid a fair wage for their important contribution to science communications.

Storytelling as the Solution:

One participant posed a question to the roundtable: “How do we overcome dealing with a public who have deeply held beliefs?” Throughout the roundtable discussion, the participants kept returning to the same consensus: the answer lies in storytelling.

Facts alone are not enough. Authentic storytelling builds engagement, creates opportunities for empathy, and establishes trust. One participant pointed out that the anti-vax narrative is so effective not because it relies on strong evidence, but because it sells a lifestyle. It offers a story about motherhood, purity, and living a natural life; people find such a story appealing because they can easily imagine themselves within that narrative. One attendee noted that to counter the anti-vax narrative, trustworthy scientific messaging must develop compelling stories of its own.

At the same time, participants noted a major challenge: many scientists are never trained to communicate with the public. It was agreed that this educational gap must be addressed if we want the next generation of researchers to effectively share their knowledge with the world.

The End of the Monoculture:

The roundtable participants wistfully recalled the days of Walter Cronkite and the era when the entire country tuned in for the finale of The Sopranos. This shared cultural moment is now gone. We no longer live in an era where everyone gets their information from the same 3-5 trusted sources.

The roundtable participants discussed the vast, siloed, and fragmented nature of today’s information environment. It was agreed that we should not naively wish for a return to the way things were. Instead, we should adapt to the modern information environment by being everywhere, in different ways, even if that means leveraging untraditional partnerships. Rather than dwelling on nostalgia, the roundtable participants were energized by the opportunity to explore new avenues for the effective communication of accurate, trustworthy scientific knowledge to the public.

The AI Wild West:

Then came the elephant in the room: what happens to science communications in an AI-dominated future? Few clear answers emerged among the roundtable participants, but the problem was undeniable.

“We are still in the wild, wild west of AI”, one participant noted. AI-generated content, including deepfakes, has become commonplace across social media. As these technologies grow more sophisticated, it is increasingly difficult for viewers to differentiate between what is real and what is fabricated.

The discussion then turned to the risks presented by LLMs. One participant, a practicing pediatrician, shared a harrowing example that captured the stakes: a teenage patient used ChatGPT to create a 500-calorie-per-day diet to support her eating disorder. It was a stark reminder that in today’s age of AI-supported digital content, misinformation does not just mislead, it can also harm.

The central issue to addressing AI risks, one attendee pointed out, is that the federal government is hesitant to regulate the technology due to fears of stifling innovation. That leaves us, for now, without any clear path forward.

What’s Next?

The pillars of effective science communication - transparency, inclusivity, accessibility, and relevancy - remain constant. But the methods used by communicators themselves must evolve. The roundtable concluded with a call to action: establish partnerships with creators, embrace authentic storytelling, and stop longing for the past. With a small amount of risk-taking, we have the power to trial new communications strategies. We can create a future where, despite the challenges of the modern information environment and the difficulties posed by AI, we can once again capture the attention and gain the trust of the public.