Cancer Misinformation and Harmful Information on Facebook and Other Social Media: A Brief Report

Author:

Johnson Skyler B12ORCID,Parsons Matthew1,Dorff Tanya34,Moran Meena S5,Ward John H6,Cohen Stacey A78,Akerley Wallace9,Bauman Jessica10,Hubbard Joleen11,Spratt Daniel E12,Bylund Carma L1314,Swire-Thompson Briony1516,Onega Tracy17,Scherer Laura D1819,Tward Jonathan1,Fagerlin Angela1720

Affiliation:

1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

2. Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

3. Department of Medical Oncology and Developmental, Therapeutics, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA

4. Department of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCCC), Los Angeles, CA, USA

5. Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

6. Oncology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

7. Division of Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

8. Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA

9. Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

10. Department of Hematology/Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

11. Department of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

12. Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

13. Division of Hematology and Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

14. Department of Public Relations, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

15. Network Science Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

16. Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

17. Department of Population Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

18. Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA

19. VA Denver Center of Innovation, Denver, CO, USA

20. VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Abstract

Abstract There are few data on the quality of cancer treatment information available on social media. Here, we quantify the accuracy of cancer treatment information on social media and its potential for harm. Two cancer experts reviewed 50 of the most popular social media articles on each of the 4 most common cancers. The proportion of misinformation and potential for harm were reported for all 200 articles and their association with the number of social media engagements using a 2-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test. All statistical tests were 2-sided. Of 200 total articles, 32.5% (n = 65) contained misinformation and 30.5% (n = 61) contained harmful information. Among articles containing misinformation, 76.9% (50 of 65) contained harmful information. The median number of engagements for articles with misinformation was greater than factual articles (median [interquartile range] = 2300 [1200-4700] vs 1600 [819-4700], P = .05). The median number of engagements for articles with harmful information was statistically significantly greater than safe articles (median [interquartile range] = 2300 [1400-4700] vs 1500 [810-4700], P = .007).

Funder

Huntsman Cancer Institute

NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Cancer Research,Oncology

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