Maldita.es joins the Digital Observatory of the Official College of Physicians of Madrid to combat health hoaxes

The initiative is part of the campaign “Contágiame de ‘verdad’, no de falsas noticias”, with which the Scientific Council of ICOMEM draws attention to hoaxes and false health myths on the Internet, in social networks and in the media.

According to the Eurobarometer, in our country almost eight out of ten Spaniards often find news that they believe distort reality or are even false.

«SemanasICOMEM» aims to raise awareness among citizens, doctors and the media

The «SemanasICOMEM» are dedicated this February to raising awareness among the public, the medical community and the media of the damage caused by false health information circulating on the Internet. The Scientific Council of the Madrid College of Physicians, through the campaign “Contágiame de ‘verdad’, no de falsas noticias”, emphasizes the control and vigilance necessary to prevent the spread of false myths and hoaxes.

As an initiative within this campaign, the College of Physicians of Madrid creates the Digital Observatory of Health Information in collaboration with EFE VERIFICA, MALDITA CIENCIA, APETP and SEOM, all of them entities that have in common both the fight against false information in health as pseudo-therapies and the denial of hoaxes.

According to the Eurobarometer, in our country almost eight out of ten Spaniards often find false news, while in the European Union as a whole 68% of citizens say they identify this type of news. 52 % of Spaniards and 58% of Europeans say it is easy for them to recognize false news. 83 % of Spaniards and 76% of Europeans believe that this type of disinformation is a problem for democracy in general and, in particular, almost eight out of ten Spaniards believe that it is a problem in our country.

For the President of the Madrid College of Physicians, Dr. Miguel Ángel Sánchez Chillón, the joint launch of this campaign and the Observatory represents another step forward in ICOMEM’s determination to distance itself from pseudoscientific practices and pseudo-therapies for the good of medical practice and human health.

We applaud and appreciate that these entities, which for some time have been offering contrasting and scientifically rigorous information on health in digital media, are joining the Scientific Council to work and rid professional medical practice of practices that lack the relevant scientific rigor to treat and advise patients, he says.

For his part, Dr. Jaime Barrio, specialist in Family and Community Medicine and member of SoMaMFyC and the Scientific Council of ICOMEM, says that:

It is essential to make the population and health professionals aware of the consequences of their behavior on the Internet and the importance of responsible use of social networks and the Internet when providing advice and health information. Therefore, with this campaign, ICOMEM aims to promote the responsible use of the Internet and social networks, to raise awareness of where to find reliable and quality health information, and to help identify the risks associated with health information provided by non-health professionals or official institutions.

How will the Observatory work?

The four organizations that will collaborate with the Madrid College of Physicians will be responsible for detecting and identifying practices that endanger people’s health through false information. This content will be sent to the Scientific Council, which will be responsible for issuing its official opinion on the matter. From now on, a form has been published on the ICOMEM website, where both the general public and the members themselves will be able to report malicious content.

SEOM, concerned about the impact of news about pseudosciences, substances, therapies, miracle products, in short, about hoaxes and false health myths, has not hesitated to support this ICOMEN campaign. Dr. Álvaro Rodríguez-Lescure, President of SEOM, commented that

In our society we are committed to the dissemination of rigorous and truthful information that does not create false expectations, unfounded hopes or alarmism, and that adheres to scientific rigor so that cancer patients can make the right choices.

Elena Campos Sánchez, member of the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center of the UAM-CSIC and President of the Association for the Protection of Patients from Pseudoscientific Therapies (APETP), calls on the different social groups, professionals and local and regional governments to support this type of initiative, which should come from each and every one of the entities dedicated to the generation and/or application of knowledge.

It is necessary to continue with the Government Plan for the Protection of Health against Pseudotherapies #CoNprueba, since these are nothing more than ‘fake news’, more or less amplified and equally harmful, and generally with commercial intent. Likewise, Professional Associations and civil society need the support of autonomous regional ministries and the government to address this public health problem of fake health news, including pseudotherapies, she points out.

Click here to access the form to submit the health hoaxes you discover.