Health misinformation is a public health problem. According to KFF, more than half of U.S. adults say they get health information from social media at least occasionally, yet fewer than 1 in 10 trust most of what they see.
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But calls for more participation [from doctors] online miss a key constraint. Nearly 4 of 5 physicians are now employees of hospitals/health systems and other corporate entities, according to the latest statistics.
Hospitals and health systems have understandable concerns, among them liability, reputational damage, and unprofessional behavior.
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So, institutions respond by creating vague policies, broad restrictions, slow approval processes, and a culture of caution that leads many physicians to decide it’s safer not to engage at all. While few clinicians are told outright that they are forbidden from speaking, many are given enough signals to understand that speaking freely may come at a cost.
Meanwhile, online information ecosystems do not tolerate silence. When credible clinicians pull back, the space does not remain empty. More often than not, it becomes a vacuum filled by whoever is willing to post first, loudest, and most confidently.
