We Aren’t Ready for the Next Pandemic. This Game Proves It 

In some cases, students who held positions of authority, such as government officials, public health workers, or journalists, spread information about the outbreak that later turned out to be incorrect, often because they spoke too soon in response to public pressure or because new information became available later. “It showed students how much science can change as new information is obtained,” says Brown, the former teacher who is now Operation Outbreak’s director of innovation and training. But the fluctuations in messages often triggered doubts and discontent among other community members.

Game organizers say distrust of officials, scientists and journalists has only deepened and become more common in post-COVID simulations. “Building a wall is much faster,” says Brown.

Participants are also more prone to divisions and unruly behavior. “In some of our schools, we have witnessed a total breakdown of society, anarchy and militias,” says Sabeti. (And this despite the fact that students were taking the game seriously.) “These are things we hadn’t seen before COVID,” Sabeti says.