Medical misinformation represents one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Everyone in medicine must proactively confront this potentially deadly scourge or accept the mounting consequences.
We speak from experience: Our medical science experts at Dear Pandemic – a group of women researchers and clinicians (“Nerdy Girls”) who provide accurate information about COVID-19 and other health issues – have been in the trenches fighting misinformation for the past 30 months. We have engaged with more than 100,000 readers and answered more than 2,000 questions, mostly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve learned a lot along the way, and we want to share those lessons to help you combat misinformation about vaccines, climate change, disease, and more.
One of the most important lessons is that this battle can be won. Recalcitrant disinformation zealots are the minority; in our experience, most people really want access to digestible, reliable, evidence-based information. Our readers reinforce this sentiment through their engagement and messages of gratitude, like in this email:
“You are truly the only source I trust for COVID answers. You care about the facts and you have no other agenda.”
As a healthcare professional, you have a golden opportunity to make a difference: You are a trusted messenger. You don’t have to do it yourself or start from scratch. Many organizations have provided communication resources, including our model. We can help build your science communication toolkit. Please take your chance. Here’s how:
Monitor misinformation
Monitoring relevant misinformation helps you confront the problem and focus your efforts. From climate change denial to anti-vaccination sentiment to COVID-19 denial, the playbook for spreading misinformation is similar, as illustrated by science denial techniques explained by scientist John Cook, PhD, at George Mason University in Virginia.
Misinformation can be addressed by highlighting deniers or communicating the nuanced science that disinformation purveyors distort or deny. Dear Pandemic Scientists, check social media and news regularly. We get great responses to myth-busting posts, like this post about flu myths and this one about COVID-19 myths. Timely threads tend to do particularly well, like this post on Ivermectin treatment when it was all the rage. We often use these opportunities to increase science literacy by explaining the origin of a myth. Enthusiastic response to our series on logical fallacies (patterns of reasoning that appear true on the surface but have critical flaws), by Nerdy Girl Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, it is a testament to people’s thirst to understand the strategies used to spread misinformation.
Advice: Monitor the news for misinformation and ask patients, neighbors and friends what they are hearing. Read some articles on the principles of disinformation, such as this article from the American Psychological Association.
Address fear and other obstacles
Dealing with misinformation involves a lot of listening and empathy. Fears and related concerns are best identified and addressed in a safe, non-judgmental space. Understanding the source of misinformation and the functions it serves can be helpful, as can efforts to separate emotion from fact. Calling out misinformation does not make the problem worse, as some fear.
Dear Pandemi creates an environment where emotions and concerns are accepted and where there are no stupid questions or shame for being deceived. Our readers often comment on our balanced approach and appreciate it when we understand that healthy choices (like wearing masks) are not always roses. One of our best posts of 2020 was a tough love response to: “Can’t I give my nose a little when I wear a mask?” We joked that not covering your nose is like using a condom but not covering your penis. Our readers also appreciate our similar personal stories, like this one about a Nerdy Girl family’s COVID-19 infection.
By recognizing the common reasons for embracing disinformation, we can draw them out for discussion. These include: misinformation coming from a trusted source; it reinforces a core value or belief; it gives a sense of security when we feel helpless or afraid; he advocates a “safe” or “easy” route (eg, “I’ll be safe as long as I take these pills!” or “There’s no point wearing a mask because they don’t work anyway” ).
counsel: Ask an open-ended question about someone’s fear to start the conversation. For example: “Tell me what worries you most about this vaccine?” Listen closely and compassionately, without interruption.
Be transparent and humble
We are suffering a crisis of public trust in science and in established institutions. Greater transparency—and proactive recognition of the limitations of our knowledge—will be part of the solution.
Our readers have responded well to candid posts about vaccine side effects in children, rare adverse events, changing mask guidelines and other touchy topics. By legitimizing fears about rare risks, rather than dismissing them, we build trust and create opportunities to help people think about balancing benefits and risks.
Advice: Take opportunities to highlight the evolving nature of science, such as when discussing changing public health guidelines. Reframe concerns about side effects by highlighting examples of our highly effective safety monitoring systems for rare adverse events (such as detection of vaccine-associated blood clots).
Cite your sources
In the digital age, the ability to separate reliable from unreliable sources is essential. Without this ability, we are highly vulnerable to medical misinformation, from scare headlines to predatory marketing for unproven products.
At Dear Pandemic, we lead by example: Our readers appreciate the reference lists at the end of every post. We routinely note the level of reliability of our sources, distinguishing between an expert consensus, a small pilot study, and everything in between.
Advice: When speaking with a concerned patient or caregiver, cite a relevant health care organization and provide referral resources (such as a link to the American Academy of Family Physicians website). Ask patients about their sources of information and provide guidance as to why or why not their sources are reliable.
Develop a toolkit
Healthcare professionals have limited time for interactions with patients. For the ever-present misinformation issue, have the materials ready. Infographics are especially powerful for conveying complexity—such as, “What should I do if I’ve been exposed to COVID-19?” from our colleagues at IMPACT (Illinois Medical Professional Action Collaborative Team).
Nerdy Girl Sarah Coles, MD, program director for the Family and Community Medicine Residency at North Country Healthcare in Flagstaff, Arizona, developed a powerful primary care toolkit. She produced automated texts for electronic health records that address commonly cited misinformation, easy-to-understand health information flyers, references to reliable resources and websites, and written responses to common concerns.
Advice: Collect material from trusted partners or create your own material, either in print or online. Consider consolidating resources into one website with information that addresses common myths, frequently asked questions, and links to expert societies. Link to myth-busting resources like the World Health Organization’s page on the myths of COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health’s page on cancer myths, the Nerdy Girls playbook on combating misinformation, and healthychildren.org, familydoctor.org, and selectionwisely.org.
talk
To defeat misinformation, we need to increase the volume of accurate information. As a healthcare professional, your voice has great potential to contribute. Even if you don’t create your own content, amplifying other voices by sharing on social media can be very influential, as articulated here by IMPACT.
Dear Pandemic uses seven media: a website, a newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Our experts are frequent contributors to media articles, online and community panels, and scientific journals. There are often synergies between in-person and online forums, each building our audience on the other.
Advice: Create and/or amplify social media content, volunteer on a Q&A panel, write an op-ed, or participate in local educational events through schools, community centers, and faith-based organizations. Engage with the media. If cyberbullying rears its ugly head, take advantage of the resources available, like this toolkit from IMPACT.
Find partners
We know ourselves how hard it is to do it all. We’ve struggled with work, families and a pandemic while running Dear Pandemic. Our secret weapon is each other. The best partnerships not only distribute the work, but also provide complementary skills and support. Partnerships can enhance your brand, expand your reach, and help address the needs of underserved populations.
Our team has benefited from synergies with other organizations such as Querida Pandemia (which reaches Spanish-speaking communities), IMPACT and Critica. We formed a “Nerdy Neighborhood” Slack channel to share resources, support, and laughs with others, including SciMoms, UnbiasedSciPod, Unambiguous Science, Your Local Epidemiologist, ScienceWhizLiz, and Fueled by Science.
Advice: Formalize your efforts by building a team and getting organizational leadership on board. Partner with others who share your passion to combat disinformation, ideally with complementary expertise, both inside and outside your organization. Even something as simple as a Slack chat channel is a great start. Make a call for volunteers; you might be surprised how much interest you get.
Note to students: Don’t underestimate the value it brings, especially when it comes to navigating social media in ways older generations aren’t comfortable with.
Remember our power
The past 30 months have been exhausting and often demoralizing, but we remain optimistic. Every day we experience small victories. Most people want to make decisions rooted in evidence. They just need a little help.
With all hands on deck, medical providers can make a big difference.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the AAMC or its members.
Genetics Chana Davis, PhD, of Vancouver, Canada, is a contributor to Dear Pandemicfounder of Powered by Science, and host of Get real health with Dr. Chana Davis. Sarah Coles, MD, is the program director for Family and Community Medicine Residency at North Country Healthcare in Flagstaff, Arizona.
