ScienceUpFirst

ScienceUpFirst is a Canadian COVID-19 vaccine propaganda campaign.

ScienceUpFirst is organized around the Canadian Association of Sciences Centres, COVID-19 Resources Canada and the University of Alberta's Health Law Institute. Institutional partners of the initiative include the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), BC Centre for Disease Control, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Royal Canadian Institute, along with a variety of community partners including 19 to Zero.

On April 29, 2021, the Government of Canada announced that it was investing $2.25 million of public funding into two new projects to encourage vaccine uptake in Canada.¹⁾

One of these projects was ScienceUpFirst, a public-facing science communication group with a presence primarily on its website and through social media. The Government of Canada website notes that ScienceUpFirst was created by the Canadian Association of Science Centres in partnership with COVID-19 Resources Canada, a volunteer-run nation-wide group and the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta.

The government website describes it as follows:

 "Science Up First is a project to address misinformation in Canada by giving Canadians the tools to spread      
 science-based information about COVID-19 and vaccines. Drawing on a network of scientists, healthcare providers, 
 and science communicators, this national initiative aims to debunk misinformation with credible COVID-19 facts, 
 as well as reach vulnerable populations with culturally relevant and scientifically accurate COVID-19 
 information."
 

As described on its website, its mandate is to counter misinformation, in what it calls the 'Infodemic'.

 So when a global health emergency like COVID-19 hit in 2020, there was a flood of information, much of it false.       
 The World Health Organization termed it an “infodemic.” Conspiracy theorists and fake “experts” seized the 
 opportunity for their own personal gains. This came at the expense of our public health.
 Often, people share misinformation by accident. There is so much confusing information out there that it’s hard  
 to know what is true. So we work with experts to make science-backed posts you can trust.

Science Up First claims to provide carefully-vetted information drawn from the best available evidence to help Canadians stay informed about COVID.

It provides Twitter and social-media content that has been created by its volunteers and can be easily shared by the public on their social media.

It does this as highlighted on its website, through “science.” How does Science up First define science? According to Science up First, science is a body of knowledge, and a process. To the public, it outlines what this means:

  Putting “science up first” means:

  Using the knowledge: Listening to experts. Referencing reliable sources. Staying up to date.
  Respecting the process: Understanding how science works. Giving weight to well-controlled, peer-reviewed 
  studies.