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YouTube Breeding Harmful Scientific Misinformation

Posted by kdawson on from the playing-to-the-emotions dept.

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "University of Toronto researchers have uncovered widespread misinformation in videos on YouTube related to vaccination and immunization. In the first-ever study of its kind, they found that over half of the 153 videos analyzed portrayed childhood, HPV, flu and other vaccinations negatively or ambiguously. They also found that videos highly skeptical of vaccinations received more views and better ratings by users than those videos that portray immunizations in a positive light. According to the lead researcher, 'YouTube is increasingly a resource people consult for health information, including vaccination. Our study shows that a significant amount of immunization content on YouTube contradicts the best scientific evidence at large. From a public health perspective, this is very concerning.' An extract from the Journal of the American Medical Association is available online."

9 of 816 comments (clear)

  1. Natural Selection At Its Finest by Thansal · · Score: 3, Funny

    Seriously.

    Those people that go to YOUTUBE for HEALTH ADVICE?

    Kind of like the age old:
    Mr. Idiot has joined #IRC
    Idiot: Hey guys, I hate this stuff 2 hours ago and my eyes are starting to turn green, any ideas?
    IRC1: Go to a Dr.
    IRC2: Go to a Dr.
    IRC3: Go to a Dr.
    IRC4: Call poison control THEN go to a Dr.
    IRC5: Take pictures and post them for us!

    Who does Mr. Idiot listen too? IRC5.

    Let em die.

    (no, I am not ACTUALLY suggesting eugenics by not educating these idiots, it is just tempting)

    --
    Do Or Do Not, There Is No Spoon, There Is Only Zuul. Everything in the above post is probably opinion.
    1. Re:Natural Selection At Its Finest by idontgno · · Score: 3, Funny

      the only thing sillier is folks who go to lolcat websites for their medical information and advice.

      "I CAN HAS VAXINASHUNZ?"

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  2. Re:Big deal by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 4, Funny

    it was harder for the uneducated or misinformed to get an audience,

    Oh? The newspapers cover their every word up to the time when one of them gets elected.
    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  3. Also shocking... by MarkGriz · · Score: 3, Funny

    The popular website known as "Slashdot" is riddled with questionable legal advice.

    Though it *is* the best place to find a poorly constructed car analogy.

    --
    Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  4. The Internet is wonderful by Experiment+626 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can get investment advice from stock spam, legal advice from Slashdot, and now medical advice from YouTube... however did people manage to make major life decisions before the Internet?

  5. Re:Big deal by yotto · · Score: 3, Funny

    I do! I learned it on YouTube!

    --
    Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
  6. Re:Big deal by TeacherOfHeroes · · Score: 3, Funny

    Are people really using YouTube as an authoritative source of information for ANYTHING???


    If anyone is using youtube to get medical information, I say that the best (and laziest) solution would be to just let natural selection run its course.
  7. Re:Big deal by kestasjk · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's a nice idea, but unfortunately contradicted by reality. We are the subjects of a plutocracy, our government is wholly owned by corporations, and the constitution gets little more than lip service these days. [Citation needed]
    --
    // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
  8. Let's see.... by argStyopa · · Score: 3, Funny

    - Cats playing piano
    - fart videos
    - stuff crashing & people hurting themselves
    - a study in the limitless narcissism of humanity ....yeah, clearly, that's where I'm going to find the best medical advice! And it's FREE!

    --
    -Styopa