What is Medical Misinformation, why should we care?
- Je-Anne Bonnick
- Aug 11
- 3 min read
“Medical Misinformation is a direct insult to health. ” - Dr. Thyailadeine Walters, MD
Medical misinformation, also referred to as health misinformation, is the rapid spread of
inaccurate health information. The rise of social media has made the dissemination of this
misleading information more prevalent than ever with self-proclaimed doctors and influencers
who share unverified advice as facts. This is especially common on platforms like Instagram,
Tiktok, YouTube and Facebook.
But how do you assess what information is true from what isn't? Here are a few ways to identify reliable information and how to interact with false narratives.
To check if a source is reliable:
1. Cross-reference the information with reputable medical websites and pages like The
World Health Organization, medical schools like The University of the West Indies.
2. Search for certified research papers.
3. Look at peer-reviewed sources.
Beyond checking the reliability of a source, it is also very important to know how to interact with false narratives. Dr. Walters advises not to interact with questionable sources or report it,
especially if it promotes harmful advice like miracle cancer cures or extreme diet fads.
As stated by Dr. Walters, many people fall victim to medical misinformation due to mistrust
between the medical system and patients, as well as people’s own traumatic experiences with
medical care themselves or from loved ones. Medical misinformation negatively impacts the
healthcare system as persons with preconceived notions are very skeptical of receiving help. Dr. Walters likens changing their point of view to a deprogramming exercise. She explains that you often have to understand why the person believes the information and gently guide them towards a different view without discrediting their belief. She states that this situation is a very sensitive one that should be handled with care.
But why should we care about medical misinformation?
This topic becomes more evident with popular organizations like Jubilee Media that offer a space for people to freely share their claims, medical misinformation is on the rise. An example of this is seen through the viral video “1 Doctor vs 20 Anti-Vaxxers”, in this video a medical doctor was surrounded by 20 people who did not believe in getting vaccinated. There were many misleading claims made throughout the video and although the video has fact-checking information, this is presented through video editing. Therefore, many participants left the studio confident in their beliefs. Throughout the video many people agree to prevent their children from being vaccinated due to their strong convictions against the traditional medical methods. This has negative repercussions as studies show that the more persons that refuse vaccines in a geographic area, the higher rates of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Due to the speed at which information is shared online, misleading or false claims often appear to be factual. This can be seen in many cultures where herbal medicine is the complete substitute for treating illness as opposed to traditional methods. For example, in many Jamaican households drinking tea is the solution to all illnesses faced, or when influencers promote their “get healthy fast” product.
As Dr. Walters stated, your health is one of the most valuable aspects of your life. Treating yourself, whether through treatments or regular checkups is therefore imperative.
How are you ensuring that the information you come across is medically backed up?
We would like to publicly thank Dr. Thyailadeine Walters, MD for taking time out of her busy
schedule to assist me with writing this article. Her insights were greatly appreciated and informative!
References :
Image. (n.d.). Fake-news-stop-laptop-1428614608.png
Cornell. (n.d.). Medical Misinformation. What is Health Misinformation?
(n.d.). Fact- checking.
(n.d.). Vaccine refusal. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa0806477
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