Being Smart About Health Information Online
I'm sure many of you have noticed that when you go online, there’s a lot of conflicting health information out there, especially when it comes to making health decisions for yourself or your family. It can be confusing, and sometimes overwhelming, to know what or who to trust. When making health decisions, it’s important to consider that you may not have all the facts. The information we see might only represent a small piece of a much bigger picture, and it may not always be accurate.
Psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman describes something called the “WYSIATI” rule, which stands for “what you see is all there is.” It’s a natural human tendency to make judgments based only on the information we are exposed to, without realizing how much we might be missing. In other words, our confidence in what we know can sometimes prevent us from noticing what we don’t know (Kahneman, 2011).
Taking this into consideration, before making independent health decisions, ask yourself:
Do I have education, experience, or expertise in this area?
What might I not know about this topic?
Have I read a range of research on this topic and stayed up to date on all the latest developments?
Have I taken into consideration what the consensus of physicians or experts in this field are saying?
Do I honestly know enough about this topic to make an informed decision, or do I need more information?
If the answer is no to any of these questions, it might be worthwhile to do some independent research on your own, so you are well-versed on the topic. To decide without having all the information is akin to a judge making a ruling without looking at all the evidence. Can you honestly make a good, informed choice with key pieces of evidence/information missing? The same principle applies to business owners/management. Making decisions without all the information can be the difference between a thriving and a failing business. Likewise, making health decisions without having all the information can put you or your family at unnecessary risk.
When conducting research, it's important to consider that exposure to misinformation can shape opinions. The fact is, there are sources you should trust and sources that you shouldn’t, and there are frameworks that you can use in order to weed these out. Finding accurate information can seem like a daunting task. There’s so much misinformation floating around these days that it’s easy to fall into a trap. Memes, influencer posts, and viral videos can make almost anything sound convincing. But before taking advice from someone online, it’s worth slowing down and asking yourself a few questions.
A great place to start is Queen’s University’s CRAAP Method for evaluating sources. It’s about checking how current the information is and if it is up to date; whether the information is relevant to what you’re looking for and if it answers your questions; how accurate the information is (for example, can it be verified via other sources, is it supported by peer-reviewed research); who the author is, whether they have credentials and are affiliated with an institution; and finally, what the purpose of the publication is, are they trying to inform, persuade, or sell you something (Queen’s University, 2025).
This alone can help weed out a lot of misinformation. But when it comes to health topics, there are a few extra things worth asking yourself:
Is this person actually qualified to give health advice?
Does the information contain verifiable facts, personal opinions or propaganda?
Can they support what they’re saying with references to research-based evidence from credible scientific journals, and not just personal stories or opinions?
Are there any spelling or grammatical errors in the messaging, and is the URL from a private or personal website?
Do they have something to gain from convincing you (like selling a product, course, or supplement)?
Is there bias present in the information? Does it contain political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
And maybe most importantly, what do most experts say about this topic? Is there a general scientific consensus?
These questions aren’t about being skeptical of everything; they’re about protecting yourself. Health information should empower you, not confuse or scare you. The best thing any of us can do is question our assumptions, research what we don’t know and double-check our sources.
Any health advice you come across should be discussed with your physician. If you have concerns, ask them. Licensed physicians are bound by ethical standards to act in their patients’ best interests. They can provide you with information as well as guide you toward reliable sources if you would like to complete further independent research.
References
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Queen’s University. (2025, March 12). Resource evaluation – CRAAP criteria. Bachelor of Health Sciences: Research guides. Queen’s University Library. https://guides.library.queensu.ca/BHSc/craap