5 tips for spotting online health misinformation

When we hosted our first ever Brain Health Revolution Summit in October 2024, one thing that many of our guest speakers mentioned is misinformation, which, in the social media age, has become one of the greatest perils of our time.

So, we made an episode of the ‘Your Brain On…’ podcast about the origins and spread of pseudoscience! Featuring five experts on the matter.

Here are some of the tips they shared for navigating misinformation on the internet:

Enhance your scientific literacy: A big reason misinformation often ‘wins’ is because it’s so fast. It takes seconds to make something up, but achieving scientific consensus takes months, years, even decades. Understanding the mechanics of research can help build trust in the scientific process, and reduce our susceptibility to false claims — especially vital in a post-pandemic media landscape.

Over-reliance on anecdotes: Be cautious of ‘influencers’ who use personal stories to push health ideologies or products. What (allegedly) works for one person may not work for you, and if they’re sharing anecdotes without also citing data, their claims are likely worth very little.

Appeal to authority: Same as above — if a person’s only backing for a claim is their degree, tread with caution.

Appeal to nature: Another common fallacy (very popular with carnivore diet advocates) is: if something is ‘natural’, it’s good, and if something is ‘synthetic’, it’s bad, e.g. “we ate meat for most of human history, so it must be healthy.” This oversimplification can very quickly be debunked by pointing out that most naturally-occurring food sources can kill us if we don’t prepare them properly, and many processed plant-based foods and synthetic medications are incredibly healthy.

Manipulation of research: Bad actors in the science communication space might twist study outcomes to fit their biases, e.g. extrapolating mechanistic data and animal studies to make unfounded, generalized claims — sometimes for fear that being transparent about changing their stance in light of new data might damage the trust their audience has in them. Always compare, contrast, and challenge the way research findings are presented by a range of sources — including the content you see on our social media feeds, too!

In the full episode, we discuss:

• Where misinformation comes from, and why it often spreads faster than evidence-based facts.
• Why we can be so susceptible to believing misinformation.
• Who profits by poisoning the science communication space.
• How we can improve our scientific literacy and avoid echo chambers.
• Ways academics can improve their public health communication.