The number of fake health news as well as the health news that give readers the right advice is quite high on the Internet. What about the funniest fake health news doctors ever come across?
Health and medical news actually touch the lives of many people. Therefore, these news are constantly circulating in social media channels. Have you ever thought about how accurate these health news are?
Only three of the 10 stories are trusted
Health Feedback and Credibility Coalition, which examined the credibility of the news to investigate the accuracy of health news on the Internet, used data from Buzzsumo to create a list of health news with the highest social media interaction. This list is based on filters with a variety of keywords, including “vaccines, diseases, health, viruses and the immune system”.
Then, the necessary experts were interviewed to measure the scientific reliability of the top 10 health news on the list. Only three of the 10 stories achieved a high degree of reliability because accurate and rigorous information was used. The four stories achieved a moderate degree of credibility because they contained misleading information, and the other three reports received very low credibility because they included large errors.
Remarkable headlights can be misleading
Obviously, sensational headlines are more likely to create interaction on social media. Click bate titles often tend to be wrong (often with exaggeration and logical errors). Therefore, it is not surprising that the unsubstantiated news is more popular on social media. This also raises a major concern for online reliability, which means that users are more likely to contact misleading information than precise information on social media.
In terms of reliability, the 10 articles in question are as follows:
● High degree of reliability (Three news): 1.7M sharing
● Moderate reliability degree (Four news): 2.6M sharing
● Very low degree of reliability (Three news): 2.1M sharing
As Quick Insurance team, we asked the experts the most remarkable and surprising fake health news in Turkey. Here are the fake health news that drew the most attention in Turkey ...
“Amniotic tape is forgotten in womb (!) ”
Aesthetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Zekeriya Kul describes a recent report that did not reflect the truth: “The amniotic tape in the womb was forgotten. Amniotic tape is a condition that occurs in the womb of the child's hands and feet and causes the hand and foot disorders by pressing on these areas. So it is not a medical equipment. I can say that it was the most wrong and ignorant news of the last years.”
Attention to the marketing of counterfeit medical products that “help” quit smoking
Cardiovascular Surgeon Assoc. Dr. Cem Arıtürk says that the health sector also gets its share from the fake news on the Internet and it is important to reach the right information on the Internet and adds:
“Today, smoking is one of the most serious threats that affect mass and individual health. There are many scientifically proven medical methods to quit smoking that causes serious psychological and physiological dependence. However, I received a call in November 2018 and learned that the marketing of medicinal products for smoking cessation was carried out by using my name. This fake news made me very surprised and upset. Then I found out that there was a website where the products were sold and I immediately called my lawyer. We have the site closed. It is necessary to avoid such fake and unproven products. Do not give credit to such products. After that, I am more cautious about this kind of fake news.”
“Character analysis is not that easy to be done in the field of psychology”
Psychologist Ümit Kılıçlıoğlu reports the following on the fake news: I ignore the news like “Feeding cats can cause schizophrenia; black cumin heals depression, if you have these symptoms, you are a perfectionist, and narcissism, the plague of the age”. What really catches my attention is the experts’ view in some publications.
For example, a psychologist in a video I coincided and could not help watching was making some evaluations on the use of social media. He was saying: On some platforms, users who disguised their true identity were experiencing a personality split. Another in another program was saying “people think either with their heart or brain” and saying “follow your heart” to the audience by beating his chest.
These make me laugh, but they are actually misleading. Because there is no content or education in the field of psychology that can be diagnosed remotely, have the character analysis done or given the authority to have the most accurate information about people's lives. I don't know if meeting audience expectation may be driving it, but I don't think it's true.
