In the age of the internet, Googling symptoms and treatments has been common practice for patients, and sometimes even doctors. The recent explosion in popularity of podcasts and short-form video content such as TikTok, however, has increased the amount of misinformation in search results to levels we have not seen previously – and this is now having tangible effects in the concerns patients present with in clinics and A&E.
This month’s BBC report around Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Diary of a CEO, showed it was spreading harmful health misinformation, capturing a wider image of a moment we are currently seeing – people have less trust in health professionals and are increasingly relying on videos and other engaging content they see online.
