Why it’s so easy to fall for fake information about fitness, well-being – Firstpost

In today’s digital world, people routinely turn to the internet for
health or medical information. 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.

It can be tempting to share such messages with loved ones – often with the best of intentions.

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

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

This makes it difficult for people to know which sources to trust and which content is worthy of sharing.

The allure of fake information

Fake health information
can take many forms. 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’t 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.

For one thing, fake health information often appears to be true
because it mixes a grain of truth with misleading claims.

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

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. For example, a claim such as “
chocolate helps you lose weight” 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. Such information often spreads faster because it sounds both surprising and hopeful, validating what some people want to believe.

Sensationalism also drives the spread of
fake health information. 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, it generated a lot of
public attention.

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. These headlines seem to reveal sensational and secret information that can falsely boost the message’s credibility.

The urgency to react and share

The internet has created fertile ground for
spreading fake health information. 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 they believe is relevant to them or their social circles.

In 2019, an article with the false headline
“Ginger is 10,000x more effective at killing cancer than chemo” was shared more than 800,000 times on Facebook. The article contained
several factors 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.

Visual cues like the logos of reputable organisations 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 than scientifically accurate studies that may lack eye-catching headlines or visuals, easy-to-understand words or dramatic storylines.

But
sharing content without verifying it first has real-world consequences. For example, studies have found that Covid-19-related fake information
reduces people’s trust in
the government and in health care systems, making people less likely to use or seek out health services.

Unfounded claims about vaccine side effects have led to
reduced vaccination rates globally, fuelling the
return of dangerous diseases,
including measles.

Social media misinformation, such as false claims about
cinnamon being a treatment for cancer, has caused hospitalisations and even deaths. The spread of health misinformation has reduced cooperation with important prevention and treatment recommendations, prompting a growing need for medical professionals to
receive proper training and
develop skills to effectively debunk fake health information.

How to prevent the spread of fake news

In today’s era of information overload in which anyone can create and share content, being able to distinguish between credible and misleading health information before sharing is more important than ever. Researchers and public health organisations have outlined several strategies to help people make better-informed decisions.

Whether health care consumers come across health information on social media, in an email or through a messaging app, here are three reliable ways to verify its accuracy and credibility before sharing:

• Evaluate the source’s credibility. A quick way to assess a website’s trustworthiness is to check its “About Us” page. This section usually explains who is behind the content, their mission and their credentials. Also, search the name of the author. Do they have recognised expertise or affiliations with credible institutions? Reliable websites often have domains ending in .gov or .edu, indicating government or educational institutions. Finally, check the publication date. Information on the internet keeps circulating for years and may not be the most accurate or relevant in the present context.

• If you’re still unsure, don’t share. If you’re still uncertain about the accuracy of a claim, it’s better to keep it to yourself. Forwarding unverified information can unintentionally contribute to the spread of misinformation and potentially cause harm, especially when it comes to health.

Questioning dubious claims and sharing only verified information not only protects against unsafe behaviors and panic, but it also helps curb the spread of fake health information. At a time when misinformation can spread faster than a virus,
taking a moment to pause and fact-check can make a big difference.

Angshuman K. Kashyap, PhD candidate in Health Communication, University of Maryland

This article is republished from
The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the
original article.