TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform, is full of health misinformation. It’s also where many young adults in the United States are getting news, according to Pew Research Center. Sea moss gel, liquid chlorophyll, alkaline drinks, raw milk, berberine or nature’s Ozempic, detox gummies, turmeric teas and bovine colostrum supplements are some of the unsubstantiated products promoted on TikTok.
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Besides the endless array of health-promoting product claims, you’ll find a flood of wellness influencers recommending extreme diets, including the carnivore or “lion diet” that only allows meat, salt and water.
Others boast about “what I eat in a day” to stay skinny, despite TikTok’s community guidelines that attempt to restrict content that promotes dangerous weight loss, extreme low calorie diets, disordered eating behaviors and weight loss supplements.
It’s not just TikTok. You’ll find health misinformation on Instagram, Facebook and other social channels, and some of it can appear quite convincing. It’s important to know how to fact-check health information online before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle.
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Health Misinformation on TikTok
TikTok has been proven to be an unreliable source of health information. Only 2% of diet and nutrition content on TikTok is accurate, according to a recent analysis of over 67,000 TikTok videos.
Other studies have found rampant misinformation on TikTok on a range of health topics from pediatric urology conditions and sinusitis (sinus infections) to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.
Young women appear to be especially influenced by TikTok health content, according to a web-based study of women aged 18 to 29. Another investigation of college students at one university found that when presented with a series of TikTok and Instagram posts about nutrition, most were unable to identify which posts were false.
Fortunately, there are scientists and healthcare professionals, including registered dietitians, who are working to debunk the internet’s tsunami of unvetted health advice.
“The misinformation I’m seeing most consistently on TikTok is mostly centered around weight loss,” says registered dietitian Abby Langer, who regularly fact-checks the nutrition nonsense on TikTok.
“I think content creators know that they can monetize people’s anxiety and desperation around weight, so they make content that’s hyperbolic and extreme,” she says. “This gets clicks and in a lot of cases, follows and purchases of whatever that creator is selling.”
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Evaluating Claims on Social Media
When you’re scrolling TikTok or reading posts on other social media platforms, use these tips to help check health information for accuracy and reliability:
— Check the creator’s credentials.
— Look for scientific evidence.
— Cross-check the content.
— Watch for red flag words.
— Look for a financial incentive.
Check the creator’s credentials
See if the content creator is a credentialed health professional, including a registered dietitian, medical doctor or nutrition scientist. They’ll usually display their credentials, such as MD, RD, RDN or PhD in their profile.
“I’m finding that the majority of TikTok nutrition content comes from unqualified people who are essentially making things up or taking one line from one poorly done study and creating an entire narrative from it,” says Langer.
Confirm that the creator has credentials that are regulated and not from a diploma mill or made up, says Langer. Having regulated credentials means a professional organization, governing body or a state or federal license verifies the person is qualified to perform a service.
Usually that’s a safe bet, although some doctors on TikTok (#doctortok) are sharing advice that is not scientifically sound, such as warning about lectin-containing foods or seed oils. Others are promoting extreme diets, often because they have something to sell.
Edin Sehovic, who is another myth buster on TikTok with his account Evidence Nutrition, recommends checking to see if the creator is educated in the field they’re discussing. For instance, other professionals like a chiropractor or psychologist may not be qualified to speak on nutrition, he says.
“Many online nutrition experts are experts in another area of clinical practice and have convinced themselves this expertise applies to nutrition, too,” says Jaclyn London, another registered dietitian who often debunks inaccurate nutrition content on social media. “This is simply not the case and I still struggle to understand why this happens most with nutrition versus other scopes of practice.”
[READ: How to Find the Best Registered Dietitian]
Look for scientific evidence
Check for studies to support any claims. “Reputable content creators back their claims up with research,” says Langer.
If you can’t find cited research, Sehovic recommends reaching out to ask questions. If creators refuse to answer or get defensive when asked to provide evidence, that’s a red flag, he says. Never hesitate to ask for more information, says Sehovic.
Most often, viral TikTok nutrition trends lack scientific evidence to substantiate the claims and rely on testimonials instead.
“Personal testimonials and anecdotes can be incredibly convincing, but they are not real science,” says Abbey Sharp, a registered dietitian and founder of Abbey’s Kitchen, who uses humor to correct online nutrition misinformation, what she calls “science and sass.”
“Look for creators who cite or list peer-reviewed academic research done in humans, not mice, or official recommendations from regulatory websites like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or Food and Drug Administration,” she says.
Randomized controlled trials, where participants are randomly assigned to a treatment or a control group without knowing which group they’re in, and peer-reviewed research are examples of credible sources to cite.
“Citing another random blog or another unqualified creator basically just creates an echo chamber of potential misinformation,” says Sharp.
Cross-check the content
Verify the information you see on TikTok with reputable health websites and look to see if other experts in the field agree with the information. Consensus among health professionals is a good indicator that the content is accurate. You can search for related studies on PubMed from the National Library of Medicine.
“If they are calling out research, and it sounds contradictory, hyperbolic or ‘too good to be true,’ look for a critical appraisal of the study in the context of the body of evidence,” says Sharp. “A trustworthy source should contrast new or novel findings with previous research and discuss any limitations or considerations,” she says.
Cherry-picking data to justify the claims or promote a product should necessitate an immediate scroll, says Sharp.
Nutrition research is always evolving, so practical application of scientific evidence requires nuance, says London. A warning sign to look out for is people who are presenting extreme points of view as facts. Health information requires more careful consideration and isn’t able to be explained with sweeping claims.
“Just because one randomized controlled trial showed cause and effect does not make it immutable law, nor does it mean it’s right for you,” says London. “When ‘experts’ tell you something is 100% definitively good or bad, this is an immediate tell about their lack of credibility.”
Watch for red flag words
Look for certain phrases that may be your best clue for unreliable information, such as “the secret doctors don’t want you to know” or “Big Pharma is hiding the truth.” If the content promotes distrust in science or mainstream medicine, this is a warning sign.
Be cautious of buzzwords like “toxins,” “detox,” “cleanse” or any language that promotes fast results or makes over-blown promises.
Sharp warns against influencers who speak in absolutes. Nutrition science is notoriously difficult to interpret for causation (whether or not an action or event caused a reaction or outcome) with absolute certainty because of the multiple factors that play a role in an individual’s response to a treatment, nutrient or food, she says.
“You’ll notice that legitimate science communicators will often use words like “may help” or “may support” rather than absolutist or sensationalized phrases like “cure” “miracle” “magical” “instant” “fast results” “guaranteed” and “100% risk-free,” says Sharp. “Nothing in life is guaranteed, so that should be an immediate red flag.”
Look out for scientific jargon, says Sharp.
“A lot of wellness grifters will use a specific cocktail of words that are extremely emotive yet vague and combine trendy buzzwords with complicated scientific language that they never actually unpack,” she says. “It’s their way of saying ‘just trust me, I can say big words, you don’t have to question my take.'”
A good science communicator will use neutral plain language where possible and offer an explanation of complicated concepts, she says.
Be wary of content that uses fear to push a particular viewpoint or warn against eating certain foods or ingredients.
“No one food is going to be responsible for all our health problems,” says Langer. “If someone is standing in a supermarket telling you how bad a food is, that’s someone you shouldn’t be listening to.”
On the other extreme, foods are not magically curing incurable diseases and do not work like pharmaceuticals, she says.
“If a creator is making a statement that their way of eating is the only healthy way to eat, or even the best way for the masses, yikes,” says Sharp. “That’s a hard pass.”
Look for a financial incentive
Often, it will be clear when a content creator is attempting to sell a supplement, diet plan, device or food product. There will be a link to buy on TikTok shop, or you’ll see “sponsored” or “creator earns commission” on the post. However, some wellness influencers may be pushing a specific agenda or product and they do not disclose the sponsor behind the post.
Other content may appear to be educational, yet it’s simply a ploy to sell supplements. For instance, I previously wrote about the ice hack diet that was trending on TikTok. It appeared that the creators were simply recommending eating more ice to lower your body temperature to lose weight.
The posts showed dramatic before and after photos to document the dramatic weight loss, and claimed the posts were getting taken down because they were “exposing the lies of the weight loss industry.” In reality, the posts were trying to grab attention to sell expensive Alpilean dietary supplements.
Enhance Your Digital Health Literacy
You can help outsmart the algorithms by following credentialed experts and clicking on reliable content creators. TikTok and other social media platforms tailor your feed to past clicks, so if you are consistently engaging in the content of questionable wellness influencers, you’ll continue to be served up unreliable health information. Unfollow, block or scroll past influencers making outrageous claims.
Langer, Sehovic, London and Sharp are all credentialed nutrition professionals who provide accurate nutrition information on TikTok. These additional TikTok creators also frequently correct nutrition and health misinformation:
— Dr. Idz @dr_idz
— Liam, The Plant Slant @theplantslant
— Dr. Jess Steier, Unbiased Science Podcast @unbiasedscipod
— Dr. Andrea Love, @dr.andrealove
Additionally, a recently-announced initiative between the World Health Organization and TikTok aims to promote health literacy and provide accurate health information on social media through the WHO’s TikTok account. Following trusted health organizations on social media is a sure way to ensure accurate information.
If you come across health content that seems dangerous or misleading, you can report it through TikTok’s tools to prevent its spread.
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How to Fact-Check Health Information on Social Media originally appeared on usnews.com
