How to Decipher Social Media Health Information
Have you ever been confused by all the health information on social media? One “expert” telling you to do this and another telling you instead to “that?”
Well we want to help you find credible, accurate and helpful information vs just trendy or viral information shared by unqualified influencers. To know you’re getting the best info, ask yourself these 3 questions:
- Who is the author and are they credible?
- Is the content supported by evidence?
- Is the information current or out of context?
Who is the author and are they credible?
- Does the source have an author (either a person or an organization) or is it written anonymously?
- If the author is an organization, can you find other reputable sources that treat it as a reliable entity?
- Does the organization provide a description of their mission and purpose?
- Do they list their relevant credentials?
If the author is a person, do they present verifiable credentials? (professor at a university? researcher in a think tank? well-known practitioner?)
- Have they published their work in reputable journals or magazines that you can find in UGA Library databases?
- Have other authors written about this author's work in reputable books or journals?
- Are they affiliated with reputable organizations that have been mentioned in books or articles found in UGA Library databases?
Is the content substantial and supported by evidence?
- Does the source go into reasonable depth? Are there so many ads on the page that they overwhelm the content?
- Are facts and statistics footnoted where necessary?
- Are their footnoted sources reliable?
- Is the site trying to sell you something? (Not necessarily bad; but be wary!)
If they advocate position, do they provide evidence to support it?
How current is the info or taken out of context?
- Does the content seem out-of-date?
- When was the webpage last updated?
- Are sources cited also current?
- Are its links "live" or broken?
- Has the author taken information out of context to serve their agenda?
A few reputable sources we follow:
- Dr. Mark Hyman – podcast and IG
- Karalynne Call – podcast, IG and FB
- Ilana Muhlstein, RDN, - IG, FB, book, program
- Phil Cowley, Pharmacist -IG & podcast guest
