This is a rewrite of a blog entry from 2017.
This article was inspired by a conversation with a friend who shared a blog post promoting a supposed “miracle cure” for stage four cancer. When I gently pointed out that the claims were spurious, she responded, “How was I to know?”
She wasn’t wrong. As a medical professional, I sometimes assume that what’s obvious to me is equally obvious to everyone else. I then thought it would be useful to create a similar guide—this time focused on identifying fake medical news and blog articles.
Before we begin, let’s make one thing clear: I don’t dismiss articles simply because they come from a particular site or author. Blanket judgments are lazy and unhelpful. What matters is evidence, not who said it.
Below are practical steps you can use to spot fake or misleading medical content. Not all warning signs need to be present at once—but a few together should raise your index of suspicion.
1. Beware of Buzzwords
Certain words are strategically chosen to grab attention and bypass skepticism. Reputable outlets may use them too, but their overuse in health claims should make you cautious.
- “You’ve been lied to,” “cover up,” “doctors don’t want you to know”
These phrases are designed to trigger curiosity and distrust. They imply a conspiracy—usually leading to a “secret cure” supposedly hidden from the public. - “Shocking discovery,” “breakthrough”
If something truly shocks the scientific community, it will appear in peer-reviewed journals—not in a sensational blog post. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. - “Melt fat away,” “effortless weight loss”
Any promise of guaranteed weight loss without lifestyle change is a guaranteed way to lose only your money. - “Without surgery”
Non-invasive treatments exist, but scammers exploit fear of surgery to sell false hope, especially to vulnerable patients with tumors or stones. - “Stronger than chemotherapy”
This one is particularly illogical. If chemotherapy “doesn’t work” (as quacks claim), why would being “stronger than chemo” matter? Real therapies are backed by clinical trials—not empty slogans. - “Superfood”
Nutrition matters, but no single food is a magic bullet. Overhyping “superfoods” creates unrealistic expectations and unnecessary fear. - “Cured himself”
Anecdotes are not evidence. “Feeling better” is not the same as medical remission. I have seen too many quackery victims “feel better” at first but then end up getting worse and dying.
Buzzwords alone don’t prove an article is fake—but they should slow you down and make you double-check the facts.
2. Exaggerating Drug Side Effects
Another common tactic is to highlight every possible side effect of prescription drugs while presenting “natural” remedies as completely safe.
- “Natural” does not mean risk-free. Many herbs have side effects. When I trained in herbal medicine in China, a significant portion of our coursework was precisely about managing adverse effects.
- Physicians are fully aware of drug risks—we weigh them carefully when recommending treatment.
- A good example: red yeast rice is often marketed as a safer alternative to statins. But it works the same way as statins and carries the same potential risks. So if both work similarly, the real difference may only be the price (assuming the supplement isn’t counterfeit).
- Related to this is vaccine fear mongering. I shall elaborate on it here as the strategy used is similar. In both cases, the scammer might list all the listed possible side effects of a drug without citing percentages and context. I can claim that paracetamol can cause pustules on your skin. How rare is it after paracetamol? Less than 0.01%
3. Unverifiable Patient Stories
Fake articles often include dramatic stories: “John Doe cured his cancer using (insert miracle substance).”
But try to verify the details—age, diagnosis, doctors, test results, hospital name—and you’ll find… nothing.
Legitimate medical claims are verifiable. They’re backed by data, not just anonymous feel-good stories.
4. Vague or Undefined Notions of “Cure”
In medicine, “cure” has clear parameters: diagnostic criteria, follow-up intervals, survival rates. Real studies cite measurable outcomes like tumor shrinkage or lab improvements.
Fake articles? They just say “cure” without defining it. In one Facebook video I saw where someone was purporting a questionable cancer cure, the parameter was simply “the patient can now walk a bit farther without getting tired.”
5. “Ivy League Scientist Breaks Silence”
A classic ploy: attaching a famous institution like Harvard or Princeton to a supposed whistleblower. A quick search in scientific databases like PubMed usually turns up nothing.
But the institutional name alone can convince unsuspecting readers.
6. Misusing or Stretching Real Studies
Sometimes fake articles do cite actual studies—but they stretch conclusions far beyond what the research shows.
For example:
- A lab study might find a compound kills cancer cells in a petri dish. That does not mean it cures cancer in humans.
- Articles about cannabis often highlight the benefits of specific cannabinoids, then claim the entire plant is a miracle cure—ignoring psychoactive effects and dosing issues.
Always check whether the effect was demonstrated in the lab or in actual patients. Incidentally, this was the major blow in studies looking at ivermectin use for COVID-19. What worked in some lab experiments could not be replicated consistently in placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials.
7. Off-Label or Invented Herbal Uses
Herbal medicine has long traditions. But scammers exploit these traditions to invent new “miracle” uses for old remedies.
Take cannabis: traditionally, its seeds were used in Traditional Chinese Medicine formulas for constipation. Claims beyond that aren’t part of classical use. When off-label promises don’t materialize, patients end up disillusioned—not just with the product, but with traditional medicine itself.
8. Name Dropping
Quacks love to invoke big names. An example is Otto Warburg. Yes, he won a Nobel Prize—for work on respiratory enzymes—not for discovering “the cause of cancer.” To be fair, Warburg did have a theory on the causes of cancer based on his observation that cancer cells usually are encountered in an acidic environment. He had noted the correlation and concluded that the acidic environment must have caused the cancer. Actually, it was found later that it is the cancer that caused the acidity.
But obviously, because his name is real, the rest of the claim sounds convincing.
This is a powerful manipulation tactic: mixing truth with fiction.
9. “No Side Effects”
Powerful therapies always carry some risk. Claiming “no side effects” should set off alarms immediately. Even mild substances can be dangerous in the wrong dose or context. When studying Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbology, much of the knowledge is on how to combine herbs together to minimize side effects.
10. “Holistic Doctor Silenced”
Headlines like “Doctor killed after revealing vaccine truth” are now almost a genre of their own. They’re designed to provoke fear and spread conspiracy theories—not inform the public.
Here is an article from snopes: https://www.snopes.com/news/2015/07/21/five-holistic-doctors-dead/. One example there lists a lady who was murdered by her husband, yet the scammers claim she was “silenced” by big pharma.
Final Thoughts
Spotting fake medical news isn’t about being cynical. It’s about being critical.
Ask questions:
- Who is making the claim?
- Is there credible evidence?
- Can I verify the details?
- Are the words designed to inform—or to manipulate?
The truth doesn’t need shock value, Ivy League name-dropping, or miracle buzzwords. It stands on data, transparency, and careful reasoning.
One response
Exactly doc Philip. Many spread fake news about medical issues.