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.
Top Doctor Warns of Misinformation Threat
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.”
She added that while many people are taking a greater interest in their health, they often turn to sources where the NHS and other trusted providers are absent. “Those sources can be highly unreliable with unqualified people purporting to offer proven health advice,” Prof Swords said.
NHS Takes Proactive Approach on TikTok
Prof Swords acknowledged that the NHS cannot stop misinformation from being shared, so it must “get in there to combat it.” She announced the launch of a new NHS TikTok channel “to put NHS content front and centre to challenge and counter the threat misinformation poses to people’s health.”
She filmed her first TikTok last week about the rollout of Men B vaccinations for students, targeting the platform where young people already seek health information. “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,” she said.
Public Increasingly Turning to Social Media for Health Advice
William Pett, acting director of policy and public affairs at Healthwatch England, cited research showing that one in five people use social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to find health advice. Just under one in ten (8%) use artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT for the same purpose. Both figures are expected to rise.
Pett said: “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.”
