You might want to sit down for this one…research has confirmed there’s a lot of untrue crap on social media. New research out of three schools in Australia has found that “overwhelmingly misleading” medical information has been overflowing on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The study looked at 982 specific posts from accounts that had more than 194 million followers between April 2015 and January 2024.
- Of those posts, just 6.4% “included scientific evidence” to back them up
- Only 6% “mention the risk of over diagnosis or overtreatment.”
- More than 50% directly encouraged followers to “take action and get the test.”
- 68% had a direct financial interest in what was being promoted in the posts
The study found that these kind of posts promoted these specific claims until the guise of “early screening” or as a way to “take control of your own life”…even the many of what’s being pushed is “unnecessary for most people” and/or “the science backing the efficacy is shaky.” Dr. Ray Moynihan, of Bond University, says these findings “suggest that social media is an open sewer of medical misinformation.”
Source: 9 News Australia