In 2022, then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf stated that healthcare misinformation (not heart disease, cancer, or even COVID-19) had become the leading cause of death in the United States.¹ Provocative though it sounds, his claim reflects a growing reality: misinformation and disinformation are not confined to any single illness.

The impact cuts across all diseases and every domain of public health, often with devastating consequences. In the first three months of 2020 alone, more than 6,000 people in the US were hospitalised due to pandemic-related misinformation.² Similarly, the Canadian Medical Association recently reported a dramatic 35% increase in the proportion of Canadians who avoided effective health treatments because of false information.³

Misinformation and disinformation surrounding public health in the US is believed to account for the fact that life expectancy is 3–5 years lower than other high-income countries.¹

In contexts where scientific understanding is limited or access to care is constrained, misinformation can resonate deeply with patients who are actively seeking reassurance and support. They often turn to the internet or social media in search of answers, which are rife breeding grounds for misinformation — Facebook alone produces 67% of the misinformation among all social media platforms.⁴ Patients across all conditions have encountered some form of misinformation that has impacted their treatment journey:

Certain therapy areas are especially vulnerable to the threat of misinformation, with those marked by emotional distress, complex science, or limited treatment options particularly exploited.

In the white paper, we deep dive into the impact of misinformation across oncology, multiple sclerosis, obesity, chronic pain, infectious diseases, and mental health.

Head to the complete Doctored Truths Report to continue reading and find out more.

Sources

1. Texas public radio. How misinformation became the leading cause of death in the US and what can be done about it. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCD0oYZnEks. Accessed: September 2025.
2. Pharmaphorum. The growing burden of misinformation: Patients left wondering where to turn for trusted insights and support. Available at: https://pharmaphorum.com/patients/growing-burdenmisinformation-patients-left-wondering-where-turn-trusted-insights. Accessed: September 2025
3. Purnat T and Clark J. BMJ 2025;388:r393
4. Al-Zaman Md. IFLA Journal 2021; 48(1), 189-204.
5. Point.1 – proprietary data platform. Data on file