In a technology-driven world where news is readily available, it can be difficult to determine what is true and what is false.
Of all the misinformation floating around on the internet, fake health news can be especially dangerous, especially when it promotes things like products that you shouldn't actually ingest.
45% of adults surveyed by KFF in 2023 reported having heard or believed the following: At least one of the five false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines that KFF asked about before the investigation. One false claim is that ivermectin can effectively treat COVID-19, which 34% of those surveyed believed was probably true or definitely true .
“It's just a matter of taking time,” says Dr. Seema Yasmin, director of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative at Stanford University. Yasmin is also the author of What The Fact?!: Finding the Truth in All the Noise.
“And we often see people fall for misinformation, but they don't take a second to do these basic checks.”
According to Yasmin Freelon and Dean Freelon, professors at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, here are some indicators that online posts are spreading health misinformation:
4 signs of online health misinformation
1. It sounds too good to be true.
“If something seems too good to be true, do a little more research,” says Yasmin.
Questioning the reliability of new health information that uses language such as “treatment, 100% effective” [and] Guaranteed. You'd be surprised how quickly the human brain is fooled by these false promises,” she added.
“When you have a product or something that someone is selling that has big promises like that, you want to dig deeper.”
2. Selling alternative treatments that are not backed by science
You may come across social media posts promoting new and alternative approaches to treating certain conditions, but you should be especially skeptical about their authenticity.
“There are a lot of people who have business models built around this,” Freelon says. “We're targeting people who are already disillusioned with the medical establishment, and in some cases for good reason. But we're saying, 'Look, here's an alternative that you can buy from me.'”
If you have not heard of a treatment or product on offer, we recommend double-checking its authenticity from a trusted medical institution or platform before purchasing.
3. Get really emotional
“Another thing to be aware of is if you read a Facebook status, a tweet, a headline, etc. that makes you angry. It triggers an emotional response. That's a red flag,” says Yasmin.
Many posts about health information that provoke emotional reactions are “aimed at deceiving us with lies,” she says. When we are emotionally moved by what we see online, we are more likely to share it with others. “So falsehoods are often designed to provoke a reaction,” Yasmin says.
4. Seems “a little ridiculous”
Freelon points out that some of the health news you see online automatically raises a lot of questions. If that seems a bit ridiculous, [like] “It’s science fiction,” he says.
Freelon says to be wary of “anything that goes against basic, generally accepted tenets, such as human biology.” “Once you start asking even the most basic questions, things start to fall apart.”
The information shared in this post may sound scary at first, but after thoroughly considering the list of questions about whether or not it's even possible, you may be wondering, “What does this actually essentially mean?” “We can see that it is not based on or is built on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the human body works,” he said. I would add.
Tips for checking health information online
Now that you know what to look out for, here's what Yasmin and Freelon suggest to make sure the information you see while scrolling online is accurate.
- Identify sources of information. Are organizations or individuals linked to or mentioned as sources?
- Ask yourself whether the source is “really the person you should be talking about on this topic,” or whether they have a “long track record of distributing medically questionable information,” Freelon said. To tell.
- Look to trusted news sites and health organizations to see if they're reporting the same claims. Consider the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or state health agencies. You can also ask your doctor about new medications or products being promoted online.
- If you think a photo in a post looks suspicious, use a reverse image search tool.
- For research, find out who funded the research. This information is often found near the end of the paper.
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