No matter what you’re going on the internet to find, you should proceed with caution. If you’re joining a new social media platform to make friends, you should know that you can’t always trust that other people are who they say they are. If you’re looking for the “best” vegan chocolate cake recipe, there are going to be dozens that swear they’re the greatest ever. And, of course, if you’re in search of health advice, don’t blindly believe what you read, even if the author claims to be a doctor.
The Bad Medical Takes account on X makes it very clear that plenty of ignorant people feel comfortable spreading medical misinformation online. This page has amassed an impressive 275K followers by posting hilarious and concerning claims celebrities and random citizens alike have shared on the internet. Unfortunately, we can’t stop them from posting ignorant things, but we can shame them for it!
As I’m sure you know, social media is a goldmine for misinformation. So it’s no surprise that influencers are happy to spread false claims about health as well. One 2025 study of the top 100 mental health TikToks found that more than half contained misinformation.
Another issue with content on social media that discusses mental health is the fact that these videos tend to over-generalize and minimize the complexity of various health issues.
Amber Johnston, a British Psychological Society-accredited psychologist who reviewed the videos discussing trauma, told The Guardian, “Each video is guilty of suggesting that everyone has the same experience of PTSD with similar symptoms that can easily be explained in a 30-second reel. The truth is that PTSD and trauma symptoms are highly individual experiences that cannot be compared across people and require a trained and accredited clinician to help a person understand the individual nature of their distress.”
Meanwhile, certain health trends that spread online can be extremely dangerous. For example, in 2023, some people were drinking Borax diluted with water in an attempt to treat arthritis and other health issues. And children as young as nine have been shown anti-vax TikToks, which might cause them to believe that vaccinations are harmful. This kind of medical misinformation can harm not only the people who are exposed to it, but their entire communities.
The American Psychological Association also warns that medical misinformation online can cause financial harm as well. There are plenty of people and companies claiming that they have alternative medical solutions, when their real aim is only to make a profit by taking advantage of desperate and vulnerable people. If someone feels like they’ve been mistreated by the traditional medical system, they might be willing to try anything. But they should be skeptical of any individuals or products that make extraordinary claims.
In this day and age, it’s simply not feasible to make a doctor’s appointment every time you have a small question about your health. So it’s only natural for people to seek out answers on the internet. But what can we do to protect ourselves from the onslaught of false claims floating around? CBC News suggests first using fact-checking tools like Snopes.com to make sure what you’re reading is accurate.
It’s also always a good idea to find the original media source if you want to confirm that a claim or statement is true. Don’t believe it just because you heard it on TikTok. Find the exact study or article citing the information, and make sure that it wasn’t used out of context. At the same time, you’ll want to check if various news sources are reporting the same story. If you can’t find it anywhere else, you might want to be skeptical.
