• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Health Writer Hub

Health Writer Hub

Medical Writing Courses & Certification

  • COURSES
    • FREE COURSE
    • Introduction to Health Writing
    • Principles of Health & Medical Copywriting
    • How to Write Patient Education Materials
    • Breaking Into Health Writing
    • How to Create a Medical Writing Portfolio
    • How to Become a Freelance Health Writer
    • Introduction to Medical Writing and AI Course
    • Principles of Medical Editing and AI Course
    • Advanced AI Medical Writing Strategies
    • VIEW ALL
  • DOWNLOADS
  • COACHING
    • Career Coaching for Health & Medical Writers
    • Build Your Portfolio Masterclass
  • BLOG
  • REVIEWS
  • ABOUT
    • About Health Writer Hub
    • CPD Certification and Accreditation
    • Contact
    • Become a Health Writer Hub Affiliate

Understanding misinformation – a practical guide

Misleading health content is harmful to public health, confuses people, spreads misinformation and has potential legal issues. So, what can you do if you spot misinformation online - and how can you ensure you're not the one spreading it in the first place?

LAST UPDATED: October 4, 2024 | AUTHOR: Michelle Guillemard

As health writers, we have a huge responsibility to understand the risks of misinformation. We should provide our readers with socially responsible, evidence-based and quality information.

We are accountable for the content we create.

Misleading health content is harmful to public health, confuses people, spreads misinformation and has potential legal issues.

So, what can you do if you spot misinformation online – and how can you ensure you’re not the one spreading it in the first place?

What is misinformation?

Misinformation is a term used to describe false, inaccurate, misleading or deceptive health claims.

A health claim is a broad statement about how something – an action, food, product or service – can affect health.

Health claims must be substantiated with quality scientific evidence.

If you don’t have evidence to support your claims, how can you be sure your claims are true and won’t be harmful to public health?

Around the world, bodies like the US FDA regulate health claims on food products and medicines.

Strictly speaking, only health claims supported by scientific evidence are allowed on food labels. But, as the internet isn’t regulated, anyone with an internet connection can publish health content and make unsubstantiated health claims.

Examples of false health claims include:

  • Coffee enemas cure cancer
  • A two-week diet that cures anxiety for good
  • Herbal teas soothe aches and pains.

All those claims are untrue, yet some are riskier than others. Usually, false claims sound more enticing to consumers than real ones because they’re packed full of power words that do a great job of selling and persuading.

How to understand misinformation

Misinformation comes in many shapes and forms, but generally, it’s information that:

  • Can’t be substantiated
  • Has no evidence backing it up
  • Oversimplifies a treatment, making it sound far too quick and easy
  • Uses an abundance of over-enthusiastic words, like ‘cure’

You can check out Dr Bill Sukala’s bullsh*t detector for more tips on how to spot and understand misinformation.

Why do people write misleading health content?

There are many reasons why people write misleading health information:

  • Putting marketing messages above truth – misleading messages tend to sound better which often means they sell better
  • Lack of fundamental communication skills – writers may be unaware that these rules and regulations exist
  • Unaware of basic health and science principles – with no prior health knowledge, some writers simply don’t understand how to communicate about health
  • Repeating information learned from poor-quality sources – all it takes is one viral article and misinformation spreads rapidly online.

In any industry, there are people who want to make money by selling as many products as possible; the health and wellness industry is no exception.

And while I believe that most people in the health and wellness industry – influencers, authors, chefs, doctors, health writers – have good intentions, others push the boundaries.

Want to enhance your health writing skills?

Our flagship course, Introduction to Health Writing, will teach you how to write health news, features, patient handouts, web content and sales copy.

You'll also get personalised feedback on six weekly health writing tasks plus tons of bonus lessons and extra content.

Enter your email for a free course outline!

You'll also join 22,000+ others who receive our regular emails. Opt out at any time. View our Terms and Privacy Policy.

Loading

What can you do if you spot misinformation online?

While it’s great to see Instagram cracking down on detox content and Google’s updates deprioritising poorly written health websites, we still have a long way to go in the war on misinformation.

If you see a misleading health claim online, here’s what you can do:

1. Contact the original poster privately and explain why the content is misleading

A polite, private note pointing out the inaccuracies is a useful first step. The poster may not be aware of the golden rules of health writing.

2. Leave a public comment and explain why the content is misleading

If you’ve tried to privately contact the poster and haven’t gotten anywhere, a public comment or review might spur them into action.

A public comment can also alert other readers to the misinformation.

Remember to always comment respectfully. There’s a fine line between criticism and bullying these days. If you’re not considered in your response, your post could easily get banned.

A caveat: debunking doesn’t always work. But it’s worth a shot.

3. Rewrite the claim, and send it to the author

If you’re feeling brave, you could edit the claim and show the author a compliant version. Usually, the complaint version sounds decidedly less sexy than the original – but it’s our job to make our content sound interesting and useful.

4. Report the content for false advertising

If the poster is ignoring you or refuses to change their content, it could be time to go to the authorities.

Most countries have regulatory bodies that monitor misinformation and health claims.

As there’s nobody policing the internet, the system relies on people like you to report the content.

If the claims are found to be false by a tribunal, penalties can range from a retraction and public apologies to fines.

How to write compliant health claims

While different countries have different rules and regulations, the universal ‘rule’ for health writing is that health writers should not intentionally make false or misleading claims.

This concept is something that takes a while for people to get their head around because it’s a complex issue. When I started out, I wasn’t entirely aware of the scope of this issue and I wasn’t getting it right. That’s one of the reasons why I created my medical writing courses to help others understand these subjects. Even experienced writers get this wrong.

As health writers, it’s a key part of our job to make health claims. So, we need to know where our information comes from. Our claims should be evidence-based, and the evidence should be of good quality.

If there is no evidence – research, statistics – supporting your claim, then your claim is potentially misleading. You need to ask yourself where the claim came from and how you can verify it is true.

Here’s what the US FDA calls a “qualified health claim”:

  • A claim authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that must be supported by credible scientific evidence regarding a relationship between a substance (specific food or food component) and a disease or health-related condition. Both of these elements — a substance and a disease — must be present in a health claim, An example of an authorized health claim is: “Calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

As every country has different rules and regulations, it’s your responsibility to find your local guidelines and make sure you understand what they say. To start, look for:

  • Health professional marketing guidelines – for what you can write about health professional services
  • Guidelines for marketing drugs, medicines and foods – for what you can write about medicines, supplements and health foods
  • Consumer marketing guidelines – for what you can write about products and services generally.

I like to believe that we all want the same thing. We want people to be healthy and happy, to live long, to make socially responsible choices and to be kind to one another. Accurate communication is a key aspect of achieving this.

Understanding health claims can seem a little scary for new health writers, but once you get into the habit of questioning everything it’s not that confusing – it becomes a mindset.

Print this page

Filed Under: Health writing

About Michelle Guillemard

Michelle Guillemard is the founder of Health Writer Hub, the Past President of the Australasian Medical Writers Association and a freelance medical writer. Blogging about health & medical writing since 2012, Michelle teaches health writing courses and workshops to students and corporations around the world. Michelle is passionate about creating better health outcomes and changing lives through effective health communication. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

 

200+ career-boosting AI prompts every health & medical writer should be using

Stop guessing, and start growing. The AI Career Toolkit for Health & Medical Writers gives you the answers you've been searching for – whether you're job hunting, building your freelance career or trying to stand out in a competitive market.

AI Career Assistant prompts

  • Job search prompts
  • CV and cover letter prompts
  • LinkedIn profile prompts
  • Networking prompts
  • Career growth prompts
  • AI writing assistant prompts
  • Buy now for just $29
BUY NOW

Packed with 200+ editable prompts, this toolkit shows you how to use AI strategically to plan your next move, find work faster and grow a career you’re proud of – even if you’re not sure where to start.

Primary Sidebar

beginner's boost bundle

Beginner's Boost Bundle

Jumpstart your health writing career with access to three of our most popular courses: Breaking Into Health Writing, Introduction to Medical Writing and AI and How to Create a Medical Writing Portfolio.

VIEW DETAILS


MOST POPULAR



How to find freelance medical writing work

How to find an entry-level medical writing job

How to build your health writing portfolio

How to write a winning article pitch


EXPLORE TOPICS



Building a medical writing portfolio

Freelance health & medical writing

Getting started in health writing

Health & medical copywriting

Health & medical editing

Health writing

Medical writing and AI

Patient education

Get a personalised course recommendation. Take the 2-minute quiz to find your perfect medical writing course.

GET YOUR COURSE RECOMMENDATION

Footer

Get the latest health writing advice and course news.

Opt out at any time.

SUPPORT

Contact
FAQ
Payment
Disclaimer
Terms
Refunds

ABOUT

About
Become an affiliate
Reviews
CPD and accreditation
Subscribe

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Courses

Health communication courses for health professionals
Freelance writing
Medical copywriting
Medical editing
Breaking into health writing
View all courses

Health Writer Hub © 2025. All Rights Reserved. I acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where I live, learn and work.