Bogus Health Claims Have Become A Big Problem On TikTok
Social media is the newest marketplace for snake oil. GiphyNews that is entertaining to read
Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inboxMisinformation on social media is, unfortunately, nothing new. While misleading or flat-out false posts about some topics can cause significant confusion, when they’re about your health the stakes are even higher.
And advocates are now warning users of TikTok to be on high alert about potentially dangerous or even deadly claims.
Understanding the problem
While there are many self-styled health influencers peddling snake oil and unproven claims, Vox recently highlighted one figure whose content has paved the way for a host of troubling trends.
Her name is Barbara O’Neill, and some of her more alarming “lectures” include:
- Claiming baking soda and diet changes can cure cancer
- Telling pregnant women not to treat Strep B with antibiotics
- Insisting that all vaccines are inherently dangerous
Although she was prohibited from dishing out health advice in Australia for life, the “holistic health educator” still has a massive audience on social media.
And hucksters trying to make a quick buck by fooling TikTok users have increasingly been using clips of her content to justify their own fake “facts.”
Worse yet, TikTok is taking a cut of the sales.
TikTok is particularly vulnerable
Fraudulent health claims and hoaxes have been making the rounds on social media for years, and all platforms are affected at least to a certain extent. According to WebPurify, a company that analyzes multiple sites in the search for misinformation, roughly 3% of the content shared last month constituted health-based misinformation.
That being said, TikTok has become a hotbed for such claims.
First, the algorithm makes recommendations based on engagement, increasing the likelihood that someone who has responded to such content in the past will see more of it.
Misinformation is technically banned on the platform, but with new claims surfacing regularly, there’s still plenty of it to go around.