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    Researchers look into how cancer misinformation spreads online. A high degree of fear-mongering serves as a harmful distraction, especially on social media, causing people to worry about certain red herrings — like microwaves, genetically modified organisms and secret toxins


    Researchers look into how cancer misinformation spreads online. A high degree of fear-mongering serves as a harmful distraction, especially on social media, causing people to worry about certain red herrings — like microwaves, genetically modified organisms and secret toxins

    https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2024/10/researchers-look-into-how-cancer-misinformation-spreads-online.html

    Bytes Europe

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    6 Comments

    1. Wagamaga on

      One of the first things a patient just diagnosed with cancer might do is look for more information online, especially regarding alternative therapies.

      In a search on Amazon, for example, a seemingly endless list pops up with every title imaginable, including provocative gems such as Curing Cancer With Carrots and Proof for the Cancer-Fungus Connection. But how scientifically sound are these offerings?

      It’s a question that troubles law professor Timothy Caulfield, who is part of a team that received a Canadian Cancer Society research grant to examine how cancer misinformation spreads online and come up with ways to ensure Canadians receive information from reliable, evidence-based sources.

      “Right now, it’s ugly,” says Caulfield, the director of the U of A’s Health Law Institute and Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy. “What you get when searching is just filled with misinformation and books that have demonstrably false claims. Unfortunately, unproven cancer therapies have become a massive industry.”

      The project team is led by Cheryl Peters, a senior scientist in cancer prevention at the BC Centre for Disease Control and BC Cancer, and it includes researchers from B.C. and Alberta. The group’s findings about Amazon have been released in a study published this month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

      [https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e56354](https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e56354)

    2. SadArchon on

      GMOs proliferate synthetic pesticides in the environment as most are engineered for spray resistance. Synthetic pesticides are linked to cancer.

      Thus, not a red herring.

      Does U Alberta fund GE Canola research? Because GMO canola is one of the most commonly engineered for herbicide resistances

      Conflict of interest doesnt make good research, especially when directly financed by Bayer.

      Edit: [Why yes in fact they do.](https://www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/2024/04/new-research-to-boost-genetic-diversity-of-cash-crop.html)

    5. Fapple__Pie on

      It’s the same group of people that now believe hurricanes are created by the govt, all vaccines are bad, all pharma is evil and we should all just go back to being homesteaders with tradwives. This group is larger than you’d think.