Misinformation Overload

Actress and model Jenny McCarthy, who started promoting an anti-vaccination agenda and conspiracy theories in the late 2000s, was an early example of a non-medical personality using her profile and influence to promote health misinformation. Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor-in-chief of Spectrum and a profes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical Marketing and Media 2021-04, Vol.56 (3), p.20-24
Main Author: Entis, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Audiences
Conspiracy
False information
Social networks
Vaccines
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Actress and model Jenny McCarthy, who started promoting an anti-vaccination agenda and conspiracy theories in the late 2000s, was an early example of a non-medical personality using her profile and influence to promote health misinformation. Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor-in-chief of Spectrum and a professor at New York University's Arthur Carter Journalism Institute, agrees, adding, "There's that saying, 'A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth puts its boots on.'" Oransky notes that the sentiment was first expressed before the wide-scale adoption of social media. Verywell Health, a site focused on health and wellness, has a medical review board and employs a chief medical officer, according to SVP and GM Rob Parisi. "if content isn't accurate in the health space, then we have nothing," he says plainly. Not surprisingly, health publishers are finding success translating complex topics into digestible, bite-size pieces of content.
ISSN:0025-7354