The NHS is joining TikTok to counter health misinformation and “dangerous advice” spread on social media. England’s top doctor warned the service was seeing the impact of patients wanting “completely unproven miracle cures” they have found online. Professor Frankie Swords, NHS national medical director, said: “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and I worry that this is becoming a real threat to public health.
“People are more and more vulnerable to dangerous advice. Across the NHS we’re already seeing the impact of it, with people convinced that they have a specific condition, not wanting to use proven medical options or opting for unconventional or completely unproven miracle cures. There’s a lot of people more interested in their health which is great, but sometimes they’re getting their health information from places where the NHS and other trusted sources don’t usually provide it.
“Those sources can be highly unreliable with unqualified people purporting to offer proven health advice.”
Prof Swords said the NHS could not stop misinformation being shared, so must “get in there to combat it”.
She added: “That’s why we’re launching a new TikTok channel, to put NHS content front and centre to challenge and counter the threat misinformation poses to people’s health.
“I filmed my first TikTok last week about the roll out of men B vaccinations for students, as that’s where many of them will be looking at other content anyway.
“We need to be giving authoritative, sensible, useful advice where young people will naturally look for it, not just on the [BBC Radio 4] Today Programme.”
William Pett, acting director of policy and public affairs at Healthwatch England, said its research had shown one in five people were using social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to find health advice.
He added: “Just under one in 10 (8%) say they use artificial intelligence tools, such as Chat GPT, for the same purpose. Both figures are only likely to rise over the coming years.
“We have argued that this shift in how people find information about their health, with the risks it poses around misinformation, should be a wake-up call.
“We welcome that the NHS is following our recommendation to meet people where they are, with the launch of a dedicated NHS TikTok channel.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
