“They're Not Dead Until They're Warm”: 30 Medical Facts That Should Come With A Warning Label

Whenever you are reading "facts" online, keep in mind that not everything you come across is accurate, reliable, or presented in its full context. Especially on social media—where content is largely unregulated. It is often up to the community itself to check the validity of claims. (Together with our readers, we found inaccuracies in this thread, too.) This is exactly why there's so much misinformation!

According to one of the most quoted studies on the subject, half of Americans subscribe to medical conspiracy theories, with more than one-third of people thinking that the Food and Drug Administration is deliberately keeping natural cures for cancer off the market due to the pressure of drug companies.

Iris Gorfinkel, M.D. is a general practitioner, medical researcher, and the founder of PrimeHealth Family Practice and Clinical Research. She told Bored Panda, "A juicy conspiracy leads to more clicks, shares, and engagement, especially when it's bad news. So the content keeps showing up because of its popularity (and that's across all platforms, including X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.)—we're more prone to keeping our eyes glued to the screen."

"Of course, seeing more of what we like and what we believe in makes us dig in our heels all the more, rather than exposes us to new perspectives that could actually expand our minds," Gorfinkel said.

"This can eventually become a really dangerous echo chamber where the things that show up not just reinforce what we believe in, but tell us that we are correct to believe in them, whether or not they're true. That is probably my biggest fear around the internet," the doctor added.

So what do we do with these algorithms that were built to exploit us? According to Gorfinkel, arguably the best thing to do is kind of listen to our gut and then... consider the opposite!

"I like to consider how the content makes me feel. If I see something that really triggers a strong feeling — anger, anxiety, fear, even glee or self-righteousness — there is a chance it's simply not true. It's a bit of a warning sign. The biggest predictor of believing in something is actually wanting it to be true."

Another good tip is to be aware of who’s posting the information. Ask yourself: Does this person or company have something to gain from the publication, whether financially, socially, or politically?

"I guess what makes me optimistic are classes that teach emotional regulation because it's really important to recognize and label emotions and be able to articulate how something makes me feel so that I can then recognize potential myths or disinformation."

We need all the tools we can get to protect ourselves from being manipulated, "whether it's an individual, a company, or an AI-driven bot," the doctor said.