Misinformation

Burlington doctor uses her online voice to ease public’s fears and influence policy

Family physician Jennifer Kwan launched a Twitter campaign to educate Ontarians about the pandemic and vaccinations and to combat the spread of misinformation. We're profiling her as a Pillars of the Pandemic honouree.

No amount of rhetoric will immunize vaccine disbelievers. The virus might

This week, I voted, which is a privilege I did not have in my home country. As controversial as this untimely election has been and as thorny the issues at stake are, I was glad to see the main parties concur on one thing – unless you have a sound medical reason, get vaccinated.

Communication must become an essential component of the science education curriculum

Misinformation and the politicization of science have been huge barriers to vanquishing COVID-19. It's time universities reconsidered how science is taught and communicated.

When hope kills: Social media’s false promises to cancer patients

Our columnist explains how following her cancer diagnosis, Facebook’s advertising algorithms began targeting her for cancer ads from quacks selling fake cures. We must hold these snake-oil salesmen accountable while teaching people how to not be persuaded by fake solutions.

Health Care in Hues: Confusion remains a pandemic threat

Mixed messaging has been rampant throughout the pandemic and continues today. This has threatened public confidence in political and scientific leadership.

Social media behaviour ‘a thermometer’ of mental health

As social media increasingly dominates day-to-day life, it’s not uncommon to see a sudden shift in a friend or family member’s online behaviour. The change in attitude may be an indicator of an emerging or reoccurring mental health issue.

Leading by example: Nurses launch vaccination campaign

Canada’s largest nurses’ organization is launching a national campaign to encourage vaccination against COVID-19 and dispel mistrust and misinformation about vaccines.

Broad-brush criticisms ignore benefits of integrative medicine

Dear critics of integrative medicine, some of your critiques do have merit. But we do not support demonizing an evolving field of health care that could significantly improve patient outcomes.

An open letter to Alternative Medicine

Please, Alternative Medicine, stop using untrue assertions to justify your existence. You can’t fix the problems of the conventional system with unproven therapies and misinformation.

Proposed guidelines on alternative medicine must be enforced to stem the tide of misinformation

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario doesn't go far enough in updates it is making to its policy about doctors' use of alternative medicine.

Media’s portrayal of ECT is dangerous

There is a clear mismatch between media portrayals of electroconvulsive therapy and its current practice.

‘This is a fight worth fighting’: Pushing back against misinformation

We are not hyper-rational beings who make decisions based on facts. Instead, we too often fall prey to misinformation from innumerable cultural, social and psychological forces that shape the decisions we make. 

Tailored messaging is crucial to drowning out misinformation

A gatekeeper’s advice on sharing knowledge

It took moms to hack the COVID quacks

Fake journals in the age of fake news: the dangers of predatory publishing

We can’t fight pandemic with bad science

A little science is a dangerous thing

It’s up to health professionals to debunk misinformation

Fluoridation and the ‘sciency’ facts of critics