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Decoding the noise: a call to action against digital misinformationDecoding the noise: a call to action against digital misinformation
Digital deception emerges as a threat to healthcare business, patient outcomes and market stability.
Kevin Sebastian
June 19, 2025
3 Min Read
Canva
Misinformation has become a significant risk to public health, financial security, climate action, and political institution. It spreads faster than facts, undermines trust, and destabilises markets.
This is one of the many challenges that individuals in the healthcare sector, from professionals to executives and investors, must address. It is essential to protect trust, amplify credible voices, and ensure that accurate information reaches those who require it.
A strategic risk, not just a PR problem
Research conducted by MIT reveals that false information is 70 per cent more likely to be shared on social media platforms than factual content. This kind of misinformation spreads rapidly due to its emotional appeal, simplified language, or reinforcement of existing biases. In the healthcare sector, the consequences, can be severe.
During the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation resulted in hundreds of preventable deaths and thousands of hospitalisations. Some individuals consumed harmful substances based on viral rumours or delayed seeking treatment due to mistrust fuelled by online conspiracy theories and fake news.
Misinformation also significantly impacts businesses. For instance, a fake press release in 2021 falsely claiming Walmart was accepting Litecoin caused a temporary 30% increase in the cryptocurrency's value, illustrating how swiftly falsehoods can influence markets. Similarly, during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023, social media-induced panic led to £33 billion in withdrawals within a single day.
It is evident that misinformation is not merely a peripheral issue; it has become a strategic and operational concern that demands attention at the board level.
Investing in digital trust
To counter misinformation, organisations should shift from reactive measures to proactive strategies. Invest in AI tools for real-time detection of false content, establish internal protocols, and collaborate with regulatory bodies and fact-checkers.
International bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNESCO have set global examples by collaborating with social media companies to curb health misinformation.
However, this effort must reflect across sectors and tailored to regional needs, ensuring that local communities and industries have access to trusted content in formats that resonate and are engaged with.
Equally important is building collaborative verification ecosystems. No single individual or organization, public or private can manage the problem alone. Cross-sector partnerships are essential to develop shared standards and responses to coordinated misinformation campaigns.
Empowering digital ambassadors
Another critical element is the role of individuals particularly those in the healthcare sector like clinicians, scientists, and executives as credible digital voices. Healthcare professionals should be empowered to translate complex insights into easily understandable content for the public. Many organisations are already training staff to be active on LinkedIn, YouTube, and even TikTok, recognising that people trust people more than institutions.
This human-first approach helps bridge the trust gap between expert knowledge and public perception, especially in environments where misinformation thrives due to a lack of understanding or clarity or from zealous entities that seek to profit from it.
Measures to improve
To ensure their efforts are truly making a difference, organisations must actively track and measure key indicators.
This involves tracking the amount of misinformation audiences encounter, analysing engagement with verified and evidence-based content, assessing sentiment trends among key stakeholders, and evaluating the speed and effectiveness of corrections.
These insights can help improve strategies, demonstrate accountability, and build digital trust over time.
In the digital age, misinformation spreads fast, but so can the truth, if it is given the same urgency, visibility, and investment. The responsibility now lies with leaders across healthcare and industry to ensure that credible information is not just available, but impossible to ignore.
