Every few scrolls, a new health expert appears on the screen. Some are truly qualified, while others just seem convincing. With AI-generated content filling feeds, it’s hard to ignore such advice. Social media has become a main source of health info, but it lacks the rigorous editorial oversight of traditional media, which enables misinformation to spread quickly.
A recent study involving over 7,000 U.S. adults found that nearly 80% believe health info on social media is false or misleading. Despite this skepticism, over 20% still base medical decisions on platform content. This behavior is most common among adults over 65 and Hispanic populations. Furthermore, approximately 85% of users regularly post or share health-related information online. These results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The healthcare influencer industry is rapidly expanding, now worth $1.27 billion and expected to hit $3.8 billion by 2035. Influencers are eager to benefit from this growth. Nonetheless, without consistent regulation, biased or deceptive health advice—often driven by undisclosed conflicts of interest—can spread quickly, potentially causing harm through self-diagnosis or unverified treatments.
Researchers examined data from the 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey, which includes responses from 262 million U.S. adults. They analyzed how people share health content, engage with online communities, view misinformation, and make health decisions, focusing on differences between individuals with and without chronic conditions.
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The data showed that 88 percent of U.S. adults use social media, with 70 percent joining online health communities. Crucially, the study highlighted a massive gap between belief and behavior: users rely heavily on online advice for real-life decisions even while recognizing that it is likely false.
While people with long-term conditions use social media frequently, they rarely share personal information or join groups. Meanwhile, individuals with higher education and incomes showed the strongest distrust of online medical content.
Researchers uncovered that social media significantly influences public health and called on platforms to take stronger action against misinformation amplified by AI.