Home: Health Literacy: Health Misinformation

Tackling Misinformation: Fact vs Fiction?

For both staff and members of the public, discerning fact from fiction can be daunting. Resources on this page can help you evaluate reliable information and health claims from false claims and misinformation.

Combatting Misinformation

The Debunking Handbook
The Handbook distills the most important research findings and current expert advice about debunking misinformation and contains information about these topics.
The Journalist's Resource
Find research roundups, tip sheets, articles and explainers related to health, health care and health equity.
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Tip sheets and explainers to help journalists understand academic research methods, find and recognize high-quality research, investigate scientific misconduct and research errors, and avoid missteps when reporting on new studies and public opinion polls
Misinformation Review
From the Harvard Kennedy School, this journal examines misinformation from from its prevalence and impact to the effectiveness of possible interventions.
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Content emphasizes real-world implications and applications, is released under open-access licensing, and is targeted toward a specialized audience of researchers, journalists, technologists, policymakers, educators, and other practitioners working in the information, media, and platform landscape.
Practical playbook for addressing health misinformation
From John Hopkins, this playbook provides guidance on ways public
health and medical professionals can set themselves up for success, make decisions on when they need to act to address misinformation, choose which actions and approaches might be useful to their audiences and information needs, and evaluate how their efforts are working. It also provides tools, templates, and examples to help in these efforts.

Fact Checking Tools

Google Fact Check Explorer
Health Feedback
Health Feedback is a worldwide network of scientists sorting fact from fiction in health and medical media coverage.
Politifact Health Check
PolitiFact Health Check helps you find the truth behind headline health news and politics (US based)
SciCheck
SciCheck focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation. The foundation was founded by the late Frank Stanton, president of CBS for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971.
Snopes
Snopes is the oldest and largest fact-checking site online, widely regarded by journalists, folklorists, and readers as an invaluable research companion.