skip to main content

Health Misinformation on Social Media: A Review of Management and Innovation Perspectives

*Rifan Eka Putra Nasution orcid  -  Universitas Labuhanbatu, Indonesia
Abram Derisko Xaverius Purba  -  Universitas Labuhanbatu, Indonesia
Habibatul Jannah Siregar  -  Universitas Labuhanbatu, Indonesia
Julham Sihombing  -  Universitas Labuhanbatu, Indonesia
Rani Fentaria Lumban Raja  -  Universitas Labuhanbatu, Indonesia
Arman Harahap  -  Universitas Labuhanbatu, Indonesia
Received: 20 Feb 2025; Revised: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 19 Apr 2025; Available online: 30 Apr 2025; Published: 30 Apr 2025.
Open Access Copyright (c) 2025 Rifan Eka Putra Nasution, Abram Derisko Xaverius Purba, Habibatul Jannah Siregar, Julham Sihombing, Rani Fentaria Lumban Raja, Arman Harahap
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract

Health misinformation on social media has emerged as a significant challenge for global public health, especially during critical periods such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid and wide dissemination of false health information can mislead the public, reduce adherence to medical guidelines, and erode trust in health institutions. This review explores the dynamics of health misinformation through management and innovation lenses, drawing on multidisciplinary literature published between 2018 and 2024. Key themes identified include the prevalence and emotional nature of misinformation, user susceptibility shaped by demographic and cognitive factors, and the psychological mechanisms behind belief formation and resistance to correction. The study also highlights healthcare professionals' role in countering misinformation, their motivational and institutional barriers, and the impact of platform-specific dynamics. Effective mitigation strategies involve a mix of interventions, such as theory-based communication, mobile health applications, digital literacy programs, and AI-driven monitoring systems. Furthermore, emotionally attuned, transparent messaging and community engagement are critical to building public trust. This paper concludes that an integrated, multi-sectoral approach—uniting health professionals, policymakers, tech platforms, and the public—is essential to combating misinformation and fostering health resilience in a digitally connected world.

Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Health misinformation; social media; public health management; digital literacy; innovation strategies

Article Metrics:

  1. Al-Zaman, M. (2021). Prevalence and source analysis of covid-19 misinformation in 138 countries. Ifla Journal, 48(1), 189-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352211041135
  2. Bautista, J., Zhang, Y., & Gwizdka, J. (2021). Us physicians’ and nurses’ motivations, barriers, and recommendations for correcting health misinformation on social media: qualitative interview study. Jmir Public Health and Surveillance, 7(9), e27715. https://doi.org/10.2196/27715
  3. Charquero‐Ballester, M., Walter, J., Nissen, I., & Bechmann, A. (2021). Different types of covid-19 misinformation have different emotional valence on twitter. Big Data & Society, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517211041279
  4. Chen, L. and Tang, H. (2022). Intention of health experts to counter health misinformation in social media: effects of perceived threat to online users, correction efficacy, and self-affirmation. Public Understanding of Science, 32(3), 284-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625221138357
  5. Gabarrón, E., Oyeyemi, S., & Wynn, R. (2021). Covid-19-related misinformation on social media: a systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 99(6), 455-463A. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.20.276782
  6. Gesser‐Edelsburg, A., Diamant, A., Hijazi, R., & Mesch, G. (2018). Correcting misinformation by health organizations during measles outbreaks: a controlled experiment. Plos One, 13(12), e0209505. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209505
  7. Herasimenka, A., Au, Y., George, A., Joynes-Burgess, K., Knuutila, A., Bright, J., … & Howard, P. (2022). The political economy of digital profiteering: communication resource mobilization by anti-vaccination actors. Journal of Communication, 73(2), 126-137. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqac043
  8. Huang, Y., Su, X., Xiao, W., Wang, H., Si, M., Wang, W., … & Qiao, Y. (2022). Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among different population groups in china: a national multicenter online survey. BMC Infectious Diseases, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-022-07111-0
  9. Ileş, I., Gillman, A., Platter, H., Ferrer, R., & Klein, W. (2021). Investigating the potential of inoculation messages and self-affirmation in reducing the effects of health misinformation. Science Communication, 43(6), 768-804. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211048480
  10. Ismail, D., Kane, A., & Kenny, I. (2024). Prevalence of health misinformation on social media—challenges and mitigation before, during, and beyond the covid-19 pandemic: scoping literature review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e38786. https://doi.org/10.2196/38786
  11. Kearney, M., Selvan, P., Hauer, M., Leader, A., & Massey, P. (2019). Characterizing hpv vaccine sentiments and content on instagram. Health Education & Behavior, 46(2_suppl), 37S-48S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119859412
  12. Kisa, S. (2024). A comprehensive analysis of covid-19 misinformation, public health impacts, and communication strategies: scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26, e56931. https://doi.org/10.2196/56931
  13. Laato, S., Islam, A., Islam, M., & Whelan, E. (2020). What drives unverified information sharing and cyberchondria during the covid-19 pandemic?. European Journal of Information Systems, 29(3), 288-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085x.2020.1770632
  14. Linden, S., Roozenbeek, J., & Compton, J. (2020). Inoculating against fake news about covid-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566790
  15. Mourali, M. and Drake, C. (2022). The challenge of debunking health misinformation in dynamic social media conversations: online randomized study of public masking during covid-19. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(3), e34831. https://doi.org/10.2196/34831
  16. Nascimento, I., Pizarro, A., Almeida, J., Azzopardi‐Muscat, N., Gonçalves, M., Björklund, M., … & Novillo-Ortiz, D. (2022). Infodemics and health misinformation: a systematic review of reviews. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 100(9), 544-561. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.21.287654
  17. Olivares, S. and Myneni, S. (2022). Unpacking misinfodemic during a global health crisis: a qualitative inquiry of psychosocial characteristics in social media interactions.. https://doi.org/10.3233/shti220223
  18. Oluka, A. (2024). Beyond the myths: misinformation and its effect on taxpayer behaviour. International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management, 5(1), 80-94. https://doi.org/10.51137/ijarbm.2024.5.1.5
  19. Pautasso M. (2013). Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS computational biology, 9(7), e1003149. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
  20. Peng, W. (2024). Navigating persuasive strategies in online health misinformation: an interview study with older adults on misinformation management. Plos One, 19(7), e0307771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307771
  21. Razzano, A. (2024). Ethical social media communication during the covid-19 pandemic: a case study. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 14(11), 255-260. https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20241128
  22. Roozenbeek, J., Schneider, C., Dryhurst, S., Kerr, J., Freeman, A., Recchia, G., … & Linden, S. (2020). Susceptibility to misinformation about covid-19 around the world. Royal Society Open Science, 7(10), 201199. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201199
  23. Salari, R. (2024). Development and usability evaluation of covid-iran: a mobile application for mitigating covid-19 misinformation. Healthcare Informatics Research, 30(4), 312-323. https://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2024.30.4.312
  24. Suárez-Lledó, V. and Álvarez‐Gálvez, J. (2021). Prevalence of health misinformation on social media: systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(1), e17187. https://doi.org/10.2196/17187
  25. Sule, S. (2023). Communication of covid-19 misinformation on social media by physicians in the us. Jama Network Open, 6(8), e2328928. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.28928
  26. Sundelson, A. (2023). Fighting the infodemic: the 4 i framework for advancing communication and trust. BMC Public Health, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16612-9
  27. Ünlü, A., Truong, S., Tammi, T., & Lohiniva, A. (2023). Exploring political mistrust in pandemic risk communication: mixed-method study using social media data analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e50199. https://doi.org/10.2196/50199
  28. Vraga, E. and Bode, L. (2017). Using expert sources to correct health misinformation in social media. Science Communication, 39(5), 621-645. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547017731776
  29. Walter, N., Brooks, J., Saucier, C., & Suresh, S. (2020). Evaluating the impact of attempts to correct health misinformation on social media: a meta-analysis. Health Communication, 36(13), 1776-1784. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1794553
  30. Wang, Y., McKee, M., Torbica, A., & Stuckler, D. (2019). Systematic literature review on the spread of health-related misinformation on social media. Social Science & Medicine, 240, 112552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112552
  31. Warner, E., Waters, A., Cloyes, K., Ellington, L., & Kirchhoff, A. (2020). Young adult cancer caregivers' exposure to cancer misinformation on social media. Cancer, 127(8), 1318-1324. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.33380

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.