Skeptics in the (Virtual) Pub - Sammy Shuster: Prebunking through Parody

Prebunking through Parody: The Holistic Quantum Activation Art Expo

The Holistic Quantum Activation Art Expo is a satirical, participatory art project designed to build public resistance to pseudoscience, wellness scams, and health misinformation. The 2025 show featured over thirty parody “vendors” offering exaggerated wellness products and services that mirror real-world misinformation tactics used in alternative health spaces. Grounded in inoculation theory, the project functions as a form of “prebunking,” exposing participants to weakened, visible versions of misleading strategies in a humorous environment. In addition to the main exhibition, Build Your Own Miracle Product invited participants to design fake wellness products while identifying tactics such as vague scientific language and testimonial-based evidence. The Health Mis/Disinformation Workshop helped participants examine how deficits in critical thinking can foster conspiratorial thinking and contribute to broader anti-science and authoritarian narratives. By encouraging participants to perform and deconstruct misinformation, the project advances the CSI mission by promoting skepticism, critical thinking, and innovative science communication.

Sammy Shuster is a public health professional, art show organizer, and musician. She is a Doctoral Candidate through the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at Drexel University, where she is focusing her dissertation research on health misinformation, disinformation, and consumer health. She lives in Philadelphia with her lovely son and husband.

Agenda:
7:00 - 8:00: Featured presentation
8:00 - 9:00: Q&A; general discussion

How to be:
Come with an open but critical mind, awareness of your own biases, and respect for your fellow humans. We're here to have a good conversation and a good time, and to that end your participation is subject to the Triangle Skeptics events code of conduct.

Logical error of the month:
Drop a comment in the meeting chat highlighting a link you've collected recently that shines a light on a logical fallacy, trap, or paradox impacting your world. We'll have a chat about as many as we can get to before the formal start time!