One in eight ‘have made health decisions based on misleading information’
Nearly half of those surveyed said the Government should be doing more to address false or misleading health information
One in eight people have made a health decision based on false or misleading information, while many do not feel confident judging whether health claims they see are true, according to a new report.
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The study, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), also found that younger age groups may be more unsure than older people about the quality of the health information they see online.
About six in 10 people of all ages felt it was very or somewhat likely that health misinformation could cause people to believe in or buy fake cures or refuse treatment, undermine trust in health services, divide people and lead to more extreme views.
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The report’s survey of 2,110 people across the UK also found:
- A fifth of 18 to 34-year-olds have made a health decision based on false or misleading information they later regretted. Among over-65s, the figure was one in 20 and one in eight among all age groups.
- More than a third (38 per cent) of those aged 18 to 24 said they knew someone who has suffered serious harm as a result of making a health decision based on false or misleading information. Examples of serious harm included delaying medical treatment.
- Half (49 per cent) of all UK adults surveyed worried about family members being harmed by health decisions they made based on false or misleading information.
- Almost one in five people (19 per cent) were either not very confident or not at all confident at judging whether a health claim was accurate. More than half (56 per cent) of those earning more than £40,000 a year felt very or somewhat confident at judging this, compared to only a third (34 per cent) of those earning less than £20,000 a year. A similar gap was seen between those with the highest level of educational attainment.
- Four out of 10 (42 per cent) people worried about family members sharing health claims without first checking if they were accurate.
- More than half (61 per cent) of people who had previously come across health misinformation said they saw it on social media and nearly a third (30 per cent) on websites or blogs. More than a quarter had come across misinformation via family or friends (27 per cent), while 26 per cent said traditional news media, 20 per cent work colleagues and 19 per cent AI chatbots.
- When asked about health misinformation topics they had seen in the last six months, 24 per cent of people said vaccines, 21 per cent dietary supplements or weight-loss injections, 18 per cent climate change, and 16 per cent mental health.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of those surveyed said the Government should be doing more to address false or misleading health information, such as penalising those profiting from false or misleading health information, as well as educating the public.
Professor Liam Smeeth, director of LSHTM, said: “In a world of invisible algorithms and closed networks, both online and offline, we often don’t know what kinds of false or misleading health information our families, friends, and neighbours are being exposed to.
“This report gives us a detailed picture of the health misinformation people in the UK are encountering, their concerns about it, the harm they believe it is causing, and what they think we should do about it.
“Health misinformation is sometimes dismissed as a fringe problem but this new evidence suggests the false and misleading claims in our feeds, online, and in everyday conversations, are seriously damaging the UK’s health.
“We hope these findings will motivate institutions across the UK to consider what more they can do to help people identify and resist harmful health misinformation and find the accessible, trustworthy health information they need.”