How do I decide if I can trust the health information I’m seeing?

Sometimes when we see health information online, it can be hard to tell if it’s coming from a reliable source. Canadians say they frequently see false health info online. Whether you’re looking at a website, photo, video or news story, what matters is whether the people who originally created it are trustworthy.

Before you go ahead and share, like or pay attention to a piece of health info, there are a few ways to figure out if a source is reliable.

Where do I start to protect myself from health misinformation?

• First things first, find the original source of the information.
• If it’s a person sharing what they claim is expert advice, take steps to investigate the integrity of the information.
• If it’s an article or someone sharing information they got somewhere else, the easiest way to find the source is usually to follow links that will lead you to the original story.
• If there aren’t any links, you can Google key terms from the piece to see if you can find any information about where the story originally came from or coverage from a reliable expert source.

Once I know where info comes from, how can I tell if that source is reliable?

To find out if a source is reliable, ask three questions:

• Do they really exist?

For a news outlet or any organization like a “centre” or an “institute,” check to see if they’re anything more than a website. “About us” pages and profiles are easy to fake, so use a search engine to find out if they really exist.

• Are they who they say they are?

It’s easy to pretend to be someone else online, so once you know the source really exists, you need to verify that source and find out if what you’re looking at really came from them. Search online for a secondary confirmation of their web address. If you can't find one, it might be an impostor page.

• Are they trustworthy?

For sources of general information, like newspapers, find out if they have a process for making sure they’re giving you good information and a good track record of doing it. For more specialized sources, find out whether they’re experts or authorities on that topic. Do a search and make sure they’re an authority in the right field.

There’s sometimes more than one group that claims to represent doctors or other experts in a particular field – often because groups split off to push a particular political agenda — so do a search to see if they are really an authoritative source. For example, both the American Pediatric Association (APA) and the American College of Pediatrics (ACP) claim to represent American pediatricians, but while the APA has more than 65,000 members, the ACP – which split off from the APA over its opposition to adoption by same-sex couples – has just over 700.

How can I tell if an expert or organization is who they say they are?

Some social networks like Instagram and TikTok verify users by putting a blue checkmark next to their name. This does not mean they’re necessarily a reliable source, but it usually means that they are who they say they are. Note that X (formerly known as Twitter) has changed their process on this a few times, so the blue checks aren’t reliable on this platform. Instead, you’ll need to check their official website.