Misinformation and disinformation

Jenny (62) has been a patient of mine for more than a year. “Well, doctor. I found out that if you take a pinch of thyme, some saw palmetto and powdered coriander in a cup of warm mead twice a day, you can shave four points off your systolic blood pressure,” she said to me. “It’s natural and organic and holistic—no ramipril for me now!”I must be old-fashioned. I grew up believing in the sanctity of the truth. If I told a lie, I would be confronted, shamed and shunned. My dad might hit me on the back of the head. Lying was not acceptable.Then the internet came along. And aggressive product marketing. And the rise of the oligarchs, who boosted their incomes with distortion and deception. It was subtle at first, but now it is rampant. “How does this impact medicine?” I hear you ask. Well, it has something to do with a change in values, from those who respect critical analysis and the scientific method, to those who put mistruths out there, to boost their popularity, their wealth or their power (or all of these).The internet is an unregulated playing field. I can say, “The world is square, Jewish space lasers started California wildfires, and transgender people are more likely to shoot people.” All lies. The difference now is there seems to be no consequences to lying. As Paul Krugman once said, paraphrasing Mark Twain on statistics, “There are lies, damn lies and Trump speeches.” Lying seems to be the norm but surely that can’t harm people?Sadly, the opposite is true.Lies about medical care—that COVID-19 is “just a sniffle” and that vaccination is over-rated—contributed to the more than a million Americans deaths from COVID. Unfounded and unproven claims that vaccines make you magnetic, contain computer chips or cause autism have prevented many people from benefitting from the most remarkable advance in medicine in the last 200 years.We are already seeing a resurgence of measles infection. Children will die, not because we lack prevention, but because parents are both mis- and disinformed. Statements like “Climate change is a con, support fossil fuel and nuclear power sources” are blatantly contrary to observation and common sense. They are unfettered by conscience and consequence. There are people and organizations making huge profits at the expense of our children and our grandchildren. Who cares? Seas rise, ice-caps melt, weather goes wild and global temperatures peak. Downpours in Spain, firestorms in California. Should we treat our planet this way? As someone noted, “There is no planet B.”Lying goes beyond the political arena. Advertising has cottoned on to the power of suggestion. Words like “quantum,” “holistic,” “healthy,” “non-GMO,” “natural,” “non-chemical,” “organic” and “toxin-free” are descriptors attached to products as enticements to purchase. Most such claims of superior quality are nonsense and do not translate into improved wellness. When people hear a product is “organic, and chemical free,” they assume it is better for them. They may even pay more for the perceived benefit.3 Yet, the opposite is more likely to be true. By the way, what’s the definition of “natural?” Cyanide is natural, so too are death, arsenic and tornadoes. In his book, The Certainty Illusion, law professor Timothy Caulfield explains how we are being tricked by pseudoscience into believing outlandish claims and statements. Sure, we could eat only “non-chemicals,” although I am not sure what planet that would be on.The cost of misinformation is huge, in both human terms and financial terms. In the U.S., there were nearly 320,000 preventable deaths from COVID. Misinformation and disinformation also cost the U.S. economy an estimated $50 million to $300 million per day.In Minnesota, a bill, introduced in April 2025 proposes designating all mRNA injections and products as “weapons of mass destruction.” Yet studies support the myriad benefits of this technology. Contrails (vapour trails behind airplanes) are supposed part of a secret plan to distribute poisonous mind-controlling chemicals. I rest my case. Back to medicine. Have you ever been approached by a journal editorial team, acknowledging your impressive previous publication record, and asking for new material for their upcoming edition? You don’t recognise the journal (something like the Journal of Clinical Research and Animal Husbandry, maybe). The pressure on academics to publish their work is high. You are surprised when a hefty processing fee is mentioned (halved to acknowledge your primacy in the field). One day, a similar request comes from a well-known (but hijacked) journal also keen to publish for a fee. The landscape of dependable research becomes corrupted by thousands of fake journals (or hacks), circulating unfounded “facts” which take the place of hard-gained research success. They even find funding though government grants, all withering fire at genuine achievement. Andrew Wakefield’s poisonous assertion that vaccines cause autism was published in the Lancet in 1998 but only retracted in 2010—long enough for the anti-vax squad to attribute some authority to this dangerous nonsense. Lies not only pollute the domain of a public estranged from medical practitioners but directly compromise the well-being of the scientific establishment. Government appointees who toe the line gain acceptance—those who contradict are pilloried. You will be lied to, and hence you run the risk of passing lies on to others. Instead, fact check, debunk and uncover the truth. We need honesty back in the medical mainstream.Our world has more access to information now than ever before. One day, we will regulate online information and punish influencers, take down fake journals and call out liars. I’m hopeful, but what can you believe these days? Dr. Hector Baillie is a community general internist working in British Columbia. He writes about interesting cases and concepts that might stimulate discussion and change.

Misinformation and disinformation

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