Alarming rise in misinformation about women’s health on social media,

MONTRÉAL — Harmful diets, false information about intrauterine devices or abortion pills — misinformation and disinformation about women’s health are spreading like wildfire on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram.

Misinformation is information that is false or misleading, regardless of intent, while disinformation is information that the person spreading it knows is not true, but continues to spread it because they have something to gain from it, Dr. Diane Francoeur, executive director of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, told a medical conference on Sept. 11 in Quebec City.

With IUDs, for example, Francoeur says of 471 million videos on the topic on TikTok, 38 per cent of the content is negative, according to her analysis. The videos say things like IUDs are dangerous, cause infertility, or they are painful. There are even young girls filming themselves having an IUD inserted and vomiting, screaming, or fainting.

Francoeur says she thinks there is a link between a rise in negative videos on IUDs and the growth of an online anti-feminist discourse. “It’s so that women stop using contraception, stay at home, and have babies …. The intentions are very clear in this regard,” she told the gathering of health professionals.

The society of obstetricians has made it its mission to educate women and doctors about the methods available to relieve any discomfort from IUD implantation. Francoeur, who has been a gynecologist for 30 years, laments that it is now much more difficult to have discussions about IUDs with young women because “the IUD is despised on social media.”

Other misinformation circulating is even more alarming, such as the idea that the effects of the abortion pill can be reversed by taking large amounts of progesterone. “No, no, no!” exclaims Francoeur. “With the abortion pill, you have to make your choice beforehand. And after that, well, you live with it.”

Daiva Nielsen, associate professor at McGill University’s school of human nutrition, said many public figures on social media share so-called nutritional advice. Nielsen identified two persistent examples: the carnivore diet, which only allows the consumption of animal products; and the anti-seed oil movement, which links these oils to several diseases. These recommendations have been widely refuted by scientists.

Nielsen is well aware there are many other sources of misinformation that can be very harmful, and that this is particularly true in areas related to health in general, not just nutrition.

“People may think that online content is reliable and credible, and that can be very dangerous . … I’m sure there are cases of people who have suffered health consequences after doing something under the influence of information found online,” says the professor.

She explains that some people are more vulnerable than others. “We know that things that seem almost too good to be true tend to spread,” says Nielsen, “especially when it comes to diet, weight, or certain health issues that can be managed through our food choices. And if something seems like a miracle solution and too good to be true, it’s usually going to grab people’s attention. Some people will recognize it’s a miracle solution — probably too good to be true — and won’t pay much attention to it. But others will be inclined to believe it and want to believe it.”

Francoeur also points out there are systemic intersectional inequalities. “So women of colour, women in the LGBTQ+ community, religious communities, poor women are the perfect victims of social media because they are already marginalized. So it’s easier; they don’t have as much support sometimes. They’re going to be much more influenced by misinformation,” she says.

Influencers often attract their audience by talking about taboo subjects, such as certain health issues or sexual desire. They use different strategies to sell products, such as gummies that allegedly increase fertility. Sometimes the influencer’s narrative is completely false, but some people will still take the bait, Francoeur says.

The spread of misinformation has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, says Nielsen. “I would need to do a thorough analysis to see if the situation has stabilized, but we are certainly seeing a significant spike in misinformation about nutrition, especially since we went into lockdown,” she says.

Nielsen believes there is currently more misinformation than accurate information on the internet, especially on social media. She urges the public to check more reliable sources of nutrition information, such as Health Canada’s Food Guide and the Canadian Nutrition Society.

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Katrine Desautels, The Canadian Press