Headlines and Soundbites! Part (1)

When the UK newspaper, The Independent, analysed the 20 most shared stories in the past year with cancer in the headline, more than half included claims which health authorities or doctors had discredited. Yet many millions of people had considered them interesting enough to share on social media.
If fake news stories about politics can influence voting patterns, then could health stories about unproven treatments result in people eschewing their current medical treatment in favour of the latest recommendation in an article they see? Some fear these articles could be dangerous.

How are people supposed to know whether something they see on Facebook or Twitter is based on good science?

On Facebook, it can be tricky to spot the truth

 People need to be wary of what they read, but how are they supposed to know whether something they see on Facebook or Twitter is based on good science? Every day I get dozens of emails from PR companies, sometimes about very good research, sometimes about nonsense. Like other health journalists, I spend time working out how to spot which is which.

Claudia Hammond - Health Journalist - BBC