Health Fusion: Study finds cancer misinformation on social media
Where do you go to get your health information? NewsMD's podcast, "Health Fusion," Viv Williams checks out a study that shows people who get cancer information on social media sites might be getting misinformation.
5:27 pm, Jul. 27, 2021
Some people aren't going to like this news, but I think it's important. A study from the Journal of the National Cancer shows that if you get information about cancer on social media, you may be getting some misinformation that could be harmful to your health.
The study's authors found that one-third of the most popular cancer articles contain info that's not true, or at least, not proven. And that worries them, because people with cancer may be choosing treatment options that could negatively impact their health and chances of survival. They also found that articles with misinformation get more attention than those that contain evidence-based information known to work.