The Knox County Health Department wants to arm the public with knowledge and ways to spot misinformation about your health online.
The new public health campaign, called Webidemic, is an effort to help shine a light on the issue of misinformation and help the public see through often sophisticated inaccurate reports.
“One of our key priorities is making sure everyone in our community has the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their health,” KCHD Director Dr. Martha Buchanan said.
The health department said data from the Pew Research Center shows the majority of Americans use the internet to search for health information and 75 percent of online health seekers do no check the source consistently along with the date of the information they find.
“In the past several years especially, we’ve found ourselves addressing misinformation on a near daily basis, whether it’s in the community, working with the media, our patients or on social media," Buchanan said.
The Knox County Health Department said the campaign includes an online guide for the public with tips, examples and resources. The health department plans to feature different themes and subjects each month.
“Since health misinformation isn’t likely to vanish from the internet, it’s important for all of us to develop a healthy sense of skepticism, be aware of our own biases, know how to find quality sources, and, above all, work with health care providers to make informed decisions," KCHD Community Relations Director Katharine Killen said.
Killen said she hopes the Webidemic will be another set of tools in the community's toolbox to help combat this issue.