Medical
disinformation

September 23, 2022 -- Lots of people believe things that are simply wrong. Why? Social media are a powerful vector. In today's JAMA Network, Social Media and Medical Misinformation: Confronting New Variants of an Old Problem the reasons are summarized: "declining trust in institutions, splintering of the media ecosystem, deepening political polarization, and worsening economic inequality."

Real harm is done:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, misinformation contributed to the use of unproven treatments, nonadherence to mitigation measures, and high levels of vaccine hesitancy... higher immunization rates could have prevented nearly half of COVID-19-related deaths...

The temptation is to say that the platforms are neutral and deliver only what users post. But in fact their algorithms are tuned to "...promote extreme and sensational content with the goal of sustaining user engagement." Their bottom lines are driven by eyeballs. "Free" media are bought by advertisers. Advertisers pay for eyeballs. Eyeballs are drawn by inflammatory material.

It would be contrary to the incentives of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, and Snapchat to turn down the heat. They could, but they won't. They'd make less money.

Concludes JAMA Network:

Mitigating the effects of misinformation requires a multifaceted approach that includes partnerships among clinicians, public health officials, technologists, patient groups, and community leaders.

My own solution is simpler: Use social media only for social things: keeping in touch with friends and family. Avoid the clickbait. Don't look at political or "scientific/medical" postings on these sites. If everybody did this, these problems would go away.

Go misinformation-correcting nurses!

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