{"id":4030,"date":"2025-06-11T01:26:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/?p=4030"},"modified":"2025-05-22T11:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T19:29:13","slug":"reprint-why-we-fall-for-fake-health-information-and-how-it-spreads-faster-than-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/2025\/06\/11\/reprint-why-we-fall-for-fake-health-information-and-how-it-spreads-faster-than-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprint: Why we fall for fake health information \u2013 and how it spreads faster than facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why we fall for fake health information \u2013 and how it spreads faster than\u00a0facts<\/h1>\n
\n
Should you share that health-related Instagram post?
\nCatherine McQueen\/Moment via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Angshuman K. Kashyap<\/a>, University of Maryland<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s digital world, people routinely turn to the internet for health or medical information<\/a>. In addition to actively searching online, they often come across health-related information on social media or receive it through emails or messages from family or friends.<\/p>\n

It can be tempting to share such messages with loved ones \u2013 often with the best of intentions.<\/p>\n

As a global health communication scholar studying the effects of media on health and development<\/a>, I explore artistic and creative ways<\/a> to make health information more engaging and accessible, empowering people to make informed decisions.<\/p>\n

Although there is a fire hose of health-related content online, not all of it is factual. In fact, much of it is inaccurate<\/a> or misleading<\/a>, raising a serious health communication problem: Fake health information \u2013 whether shared unknowingly and innocently, or deliberately to mislead or cause harm \u2013 can be far more captivating<\/a> than accurate information.<\/p>\n

This makes it difficult for people to know which sources to trust and which content is worthy of sharing.<\/p>\n

The allure of fake health information<\/h2>\n

Fake health information can take many forms<\/a>. For example, it may be misleading content that distorts facts to frame an issue or individual in a certain context. Or it may be based on false connections, where headlines, visuals or captions don\u2019t align with the content. Despite this variation, such content often shares a few common characteristics that make it seem believable and more shareable than facts.<\/p>\n

For one thing, fake health information often appears to be true because it mixes a grain of truth<\/a> with misleading claims.<\/p>\n

For example, early in the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, false rumors suggested that drinking ethanol or bleach could protect people from the virus<\/a>. While ethanol or bleach can indeed kill viruses on surfaces such as countertops, it is extremely dangerous<\/a> when it comes into contact with skin or gets inside the body.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Stopping to check the facts helps stem the spread of misinformation.<\/span>
\nWorld Health Organization adaptation from Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris in The Spinoff<\/a>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another marker of fake health information is that it presents ideas that are simply too good to be true. There is something appealingly counterintuitive in certain types of fake health information that can make people feel they have access to valuable or exclusive knowledge that others may not know<\/a>. For example, a claim such as \u201cchocolate helps you lose weight<\/a>\u201d can be especially appealing because it offers a sense of permission to indulge and taps into a simple, feel-good solution to a complex problem<\/a>. Such information often spreads faster because it sounds both surprising and hopeful, validating what some people want to believe.<\/p>\n

Sensationalism<\/a> also drives the spread of fake health information<\/a>. For instance, when critics falsely claimed that Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the president at the time, was responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, it generated a lot of public attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a study on vaccine hesitancy published in 2020, my colleagues and I found that controversial headlines in news reports that go viral before national vaccination campaigns can discourage parents from getting their children vaccinated<\/a>. These headlines seem to reveal sensational and secret information that can falsely boost the message\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n

The pull to share<\/h2>\n

The internet has created fertile ground for spreading fake health information<\/a>. Professional-looking websites and social media posts with misleading headlines can lure people into clicking or quickly sharing, which drives more and more readers to the falsehood. People tend to share information<\/a> they believe is relevant to them or their social circles.<\/p>\n

In 2019, an article with the false headline \u201cGinger is 10,000x more effective at killing cancer than chemo<\/a>\u201d was shared more than 800,000 times on Facebook. The article contained several factors<\/a> that make people feel an urgency to react and share without checking the facts: compelling visuals, emotional stories, misleading graphs, quotes from experts with omitted context and outdated content that is recirculated.<\/p>\n

Visual cues like the logos of reputable organizations or photos of people wearing white medical coats add credibility to these posts. This kind of content is highly shareable, often reaching far more people<\/a> than scientifically accurate studies that may lack eye-catching headlines or visuals, easy-to-understand words or dramatic storylines.<\/p>\n

But sharing content without verifying<\/a> it first has real-world consequences. For example, studies have found that COVID-19-related fake information reduces people\u2019s trust<\/a> in the government and in health care systems<\/a>, making people less likely to use or seek out health services.<\/p>\n

Unfounded claims about vaccine side effects have led to reduced vaccination rates globally<\/a>, fueling the return of dangerous diseases<\/a>, including measles<\/a>.<\/p>\n