Influencing the influencers to help stop health misinformation

A pilot programme by Harvard scientists aims to combat mental health misinformation and disinformation by providing social media influencers with toolkits containing accurate, evidence-backed information on specific mental health topics. — Freepik

Public health institutions are facing the challenge of a lifetime as social media breeds misinformation and disinformation about everything from Covid-19 vaccines to climate change.

Now, a creative programme at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the United States, is trying to flip the script by influencing the influencers on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.