A cabal of doctors is hiding the cure for cancer, berries are more effective than vaccines, and eating instant noodles can kill you: these are some of the most viral health misinformation claims on the internet in 2019.
Health misinformation has been a big problem this year. Facing pressure from lawmakers, doctors and health advocates, social media platforms made sweeping policy changes to ban or limit the spread of false health information that had gone unchecked for more than a decade.
To get a sense of the fake health news landscape this year, NBC News compiled a list of the most viral fake health news stories and analyzed the data to see where they spread and how people reacted to them.
The most viral fake health news stories have spurred far-reaching conspiracies between governments and medical communities and suggested abandoning mainstream medical treatment of life-threatening illnesses in favor of unproven cures. The top 50 articles garnered more than 12 million shares, comments and reactions this year, primarily on Facebook.
The NBC News analysis draws on methodology used in two recent studies: a 2018 study in which researchers at Gdansk Medical University measured the most shared stories including health misinformation in Poland, and a 2019 study in which Stanford researchers tracked online activity surrounding the misconception that cannabis cures cancer.
NBC News used social media analytics tool BuzzSumo to search for keywords related to the most common diseases and causes of death in the USA. The search was expanded to include health topics regularly targeted by disinformation campaigns: vaccines, fluoride and natural remedies. Only articles with more than 25,000 commitments were taken into account; 80 made up the final list.
Although researchers suggest that poor health journalism can misinform the public, the count does not include articles from legitimate media outlets that may draw false conclusions, cover up flawed studies, or inflate the results of individual studies, such as this is often the case with contradictory press articles. regarding the health benefits of red wine, chocolate and coffee, for example.
Cancer, cures and unproven vaccines
Eighty percent online people use the Internet to search for health information. An NBC News analysis raises concerns about what information people might have found in 2019.
The most viral health misinformation in 2019 related to the topics of cancer, unproven cures and vaccines, according to the review. When it comes to certain topics, including cancer and fluoride, health misinformation has dominated global news.
The most engaged article on cancer in 2019, for example, pushed a stew of medical conspiracies, including one positing that “Big Pharma,” a nebulous group that includes doctors and federal health organizations, is hiding a cure against cancer.
The April article, “The cancer industry isn’t looking for a cure; it’s too busy making money,” garnered 5.4 million engagements on Natural News, an owned-and-operated website by Mike Adams, a dietary supplement supplier who goes by the nickname “The Health Ranger.” The article found its largest audience on Facebook, where Natural News had nearly 3 million followers until it was forbidden in June for using “misleading or inaccurate information” to drive engagement, according to a statement Facebook sent to Ars Technica.
The next closest article about cancer was a legitimate article (although overrated) report from a Florida Fox affiliate on an experimental breast cancer vaccine. The article was shared by 1.8 million users.
Overall, cancer was the most popular health misinformation topic, with viral articles promoting unproven cures for cancer making up about a third of our list. Marijuana was one of the most popular alleged cures of its kind, matching public demand: Stanford University researchers recently found that online searches for cannabis and cancer had increased at a rate 10 times higher than searches for other standard medical therapies.
Dozens of viral articles hosted on networks of clickbait-based health misinformation sites suggest we should fear processed foods (300,000 people engaged in “Scientists Warn People to Stop Eating Instant Noodles in due to the risks of cancer and stroke) while adopting other so-called natural remedies without medical treatment. evidence, often sandwiched between advertisements for supplements touted as miracles.
“Ginger is 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy at killing cancer,” reads the title of an article that generated more than 800,000 interactions. Papaya leaf juice, elderberry, dates, thyme, garlic, jasmine, lime, okra and other exotic herbs, vegetables and fruits have all been proposed this year as remedies against cancer, diabetes, asthma and flu.
But not all of the year’s fake health news was hopeful; a more sinister message informed people about vaccines. Although vaccines are considered safe by the medical and scientific community at large, a few well-funded anti-vaccination activists, without medical training or expertise, have promoted the false claim that vaccines cause harm and death.
The three most popular creators of this type of health misinformation in 2019 were Adams’ Natural News; Children’s Health Defense, an organization led by anti-vaccine activist Robert Kennedy Jr.; and Stop Mandatory Vaccination, a website run by self-described social media activist Larry Cook. Their anti-vaccine content has generated over 1 million engagements on our list.
Viral articles from Children’s Health Defense misinterpret research to fuel fears that vaccines could be dangerous for children and pregnant women. The articles in Stop Mandatory Vaccination are testimonials from parents who claim that a baby’s death was the result of vaccination. Many of these viral articles have been debunked with official, medically supported explanations. which include sudden infant death syndrome, pneumonia and accidental asphyxia.
A representative from Children’s Health Defense disputed his inclusion on the list in a statement calling his articles “meticulously researched.” NBC News reached out to Adams and Cook but did not get a response.
Facebook said it was working diligently to reduce the spread of health misinformation.
“While we have made progress this year, we know there is still work to do. We look forward to continuing our partnership with health organizations to expand our work in this area,” a spokesperson said in a statement. communicated.
Consequences of disinformation
The impact of misinformation on health can be enormous.
The most common concerns among health professionals are compliance with health treatments or prevention efforts, said Nat Gyenes, who directs the Digital Health Lab at tech nonprofit Meedan and researches technology and health at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
“This may lead to vaccination levels below herd immunity, adverse effects on minors whose parents are responsible for their health care and well-being, engaging in alternative or homeopathic treatments as the primary approach and to only comply with necessary medical treatments at a time when effectiveness is diminished,” Gyenes said.
But as with the broader category of “fake news,” health misinformation spread online can also erode trust between individuals, governments, and other institutions, as well as between doctors and patients.
“Of course, distrust of health institutions and pharmaceutical companies can be legitimate, especially for communities that have been targeted by unethical research, for example, in the past,” said Gyenes.
“Often, consumers of online conspiracies focused on medical treatment are redirected toward homeopathic treatment and regular ‘health maintenance’ that involves vitamin supplementation,” she said. “Online health misinformation regarding the effectiveness of homeopathy offers a welcome and costly alternative, compounded by conspiracy content and misinformation about treatments and cures.”
While the problem of online health misinformation is becoming clear, the solution is still being explored.
Fact-checks on health misinformation are rare and cannot compete with the virality of the claims they seek to correct. Part of the solution, Gyenes said, will come from public health communities doing a better job of digital outreach, creating more engaging content, memes, visualizations and storytelling.
“False health information has been around since the beginning of the medical profession,” she said. “Focusing on mitigating the health impacts of misinformation is a productive way to think about the challenge.”
