Climate and vaccine misinformation seemed worlds apart – but it turned out the Cranky Uncle was a universal figure

University of Melbourne academic John Cook was approached by Unicef to adapt his Cranky Uncle game – focused on the climate crisis – to help combat vaccine misinformation in the developing world. Photograph: Nadir Kinani/The Guardian

Most people in western countries would recognise the archetypal cranky uncle – the cantankerous older relative who lays claim to “common sense” as they dismiss climate change as a socialist plot or vaccines as a conspiracy perpetuated by big pharma.

It’s a character that John Cook knew well because, like a lot of us, he had someone like that in his family.