One of the NHS's most senior doctors has warned that misinformation spread online is becoming a real threat to public health, prompting the health service to launch its own TikTok channel in an effort to combat it. The move reflects growing concern about how false or misleading health claims circulate on social media and the influence they can have on the decisions people make about their own care. The initiative marks an attempt to meet audiences on the platforms where they are already looking for answers.
The warning came from Professor Frankie Swords, described as one of the NHS's top doctors, in a report by Sky News health correspondent Ashish Joshi. Professor Swords said misinformation is spread on social media all the time and that it is a clear concern not only for the NHS but for public health leaders around the world. The comments underlined the scale of the challenge facing health systems as more of the conversation about health moves online.
According to the professor, the issue is becoming more frequent because of how people now look for information. When they have a question they want answered about their health, one of the first sources they turn to is social media. That shift means that, for many, the initial point of contact on a health matter is no longer an official channel but a feed shaped by algorithms and personal accounts rather than clinical guidance.
The problem, the professor explained, is that much of what circulates on social media is unverified and largely not evidence-based. Rather than going to NHS websites, people often listen to so-called health influencers, whose content may not be grounded in medical evidence. That gap between trusted clinical sources and the material people actually encounter online lies at the heart of the concern the NHS is now trying to address.
The report set out how the misinformation tends to fall into two broad camps. One involves misleading claims around mental health, an area where poor information can be particularly harmful. The other involves miracle or quack cures, in which someone will suggest that eating or drinking a particular thing will bring a specific benefit. In both cases, the claims are not evidence-based, which is precisely why they are considered a real danger.
In response, the NHS has now set up its own TikTok channel, which it hopes will help counter the misinformation being spread online. By producing content on the same platforms where misleading claims appear, the health service aims to offer people evidence-based information in a format and setting they already use. The approach represents a shift towards actively competing for attention in spaces that have often been dominated by unverified voices.
The launch highlights the wider challenge health services face as social media becomes a primary source of information for many members of the public. Officials have made clear that the concern is not limited to the United Kingdom, with public health leaders around the world grappling with similar issues. For the NHS, the new channel is intended as one part of a broader effort to make trusted, evidence-based guidance easier to find at the point where people are searching for it.