Succeed and Soar’s “Thrive! “presents practices that can improve life. This post presents Part 1 of 2 articles on Medical Misinformation. First, thank you to Kelsey Cowles, MLIS; Rachel Suppok, MLIS, & Rebekah Miller, MLIS for providing these insights from the Research & Instruction Librarians at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System.

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• The Dangerous Spread of Health Misinformation Online, 3 Minutes and 48 Seconds
• Health misinformation is on the rise. Look for these red flags 1 Minute, 54 Seconds.

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1. Celebrity/influencer endorsements or first-person stories – celebrities usually make money to endorse products and/or may not have the expertise to evaluate whether they’re safe and effective. Anyone can claim that something did or didn’t work for them; even if they are telling the truth that doesn’t mean your experience would be the same.
2. Exaggerated claims – if someone claims that something can cure/treat/prevent a wide range of illnesses, that’s a red flag.
3. Claims of exclusive information (“here’s what they don’t want you to know!”) or inflammatory language to make you feel surprised or afraid (“this common ingredient is poisoning you!”) – these are designed to grab your attention and make you less likely to check the information.
4. AI-generated imagery – reliable sources generally will avoid using these. Here are some tips for spotting AI-generated images.

Learn more about recognizing unreliable information here.