Fake forwards new headache for doctors
Shobita.Dhar@timesgroup.com 22.07.2018
Kick off “Breast Cancer”… Avoid black bra in summer; Always cover your chest completely by your dupatta or scarf when you are under the sun… …Pass it to All the Ladies you Care for without Hesitating
This forward, pretending to be an advisory from the Tata Cancer Hospital, started doing the rounds on WhatsApp last week after actor Sonali Bendre’s announcement that she has cancer. India is in the grip of fake news, and fake health content is spreading particularly fast.
More than 25% of the messages Shammas Oliyath, co-founder of fake news busting website Check4Spam.com, debunks are fake medical posts. “Social media is rife with medical posts. The allopathic doctors we consult say there’s no scientific proof to back such claims,” he says.
A common misconception propagated by social media is that a biopsy causes a tumour to turn cancerous. “I had a patient who refused a biopsy when I had good reason to suggest it. It took me some time to convince him,” says Dr Sandeep Nayak, surgical oncologist with Fortis, Bengaluru. Other fake messages that make the rounds regularly relate to prolonged use of sanitary napkins causing death of “56 girls”, and that “80% Females Die During Delivery Due To Swelling in Uterus Walls Caused Becouse Of washing head in The Early Days Of Ur Menstrual Cycle” (no, we didn’t add the caps or the spelling errors). Why do Indians believe and propagate such patently fake messages? In fact, most people think they are performing a public service by forwarding them to friends and family.
Doctors say one reason is that there just aren’t enough of them around. According to government data, India has only about one million allopathic doctors for a population of one billion. This has created a culture of quackery, they say, which allows fake health news to thrive and be accepted.
“This is especially true in rural areas where only one in five ‘doctors’ is qualified to practice,” says Dr Jaideep Malhotra, president, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India, quoting a WHO report. “Most of the consultation time now is wasted dispelling myths,” says Dr Malhotra who practices in Agra.
Dr Sandeep Budhiraja says this is a new challenge for doctors — how to control and counter fake health news.
MISLEADING
Shobita.Dhar@timesgroup.com 22.07.2018
Kick off “Breast Cancer”… Avoid black bra in summer; Always cover your chest completely by your dupatta or scarf when you are under the sun… …Pass it to All the Ladies you Care for without Hesitating
This forward, pretending to be an advisory from the Tata Cancer Hospital, started doing the rounds on WhatsApp last week after actor Sonali Bendre’s announcement that she has cancer. India is in the grip of fake news, and fake health content is spreading particularly fast.
More than 25% of the messages Shammas Oliyath, co-founder of fake news busting website Check4Spam.com, debunks are fake medical posts. “Social media is rife with medical posts. The allopathic doctors we consult say there’s no scientific proof to back such claims,” he says.
A common misconception propagated by social media is that a biopsy causes a tumour to turn cancerous. “I had a patient who refused a biopsy when I had good reason to suggest it. It took me some time to convince him,” says Dr Sandeep Nayak, surgical oncologist with Fortis, Bengaluru. Other fake messages that make the rounds regularly relate to prolonged use of sanitary napkins causing death of “56 girls”, and that “80% Females Die During Delivery Due To Swelling in Uterus Walls Caused Becouse Of washing head in The Early Days Of Ur Menstrual Cycle” (no, we didn’t add the caps or the spelling errors). Why do Indians believe and propagate such patently fake messages? In fact, most people think they are performing a public service by forwarding them to friends and family.
Doctors say one reason is that there just aren’t enough of them around. According to government data, India has only about one million allopathic doctors for a population of one billion. This has created a culture of quackery, they say, which allows fake health news to thrive and be accepted.
“This is especially true in rural areas where only one in five ‘doctors’ is qualified to practice,” says Dr Jaideep Malhotra, president, Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India, quoting a WHO report. “Most of the consultation time now is wasted dispelling myths,” says Dr Malhotra who practices in Agra.
Dr Sandeep Budhiraja says this is a new challenge for doctors — how to control and counter fake health news.
MISLEADING
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