When you have questions about health and medicine, where do you turn? Of course, your first line of defense should be a medical professional, such as a doctor, nurse, or specialist. But at a time when the medical field is severely overburdened and health services aren’t always affordable or accessible, we have to rely on the resources that are available to us—and that includes the internet.

Unfortunately, finding reliable, trustworthy, and straightforward health information on the internet isn’t always easy.

The Problem with Sites Like WebMD

Sometimes it’s a simple case of misdirected self-diagnosis: a man enters his flu-like symptoms into the WebMD symptoms searcher and suddenly worries he has a brain tumor. The WebMD misdiagnosis may be a common joke, but it can cause real stress unnecessarily. Websites like WebMD sometimes oversimplify information while also relaying it in a way that makes minor symptoms seem scary and potentially fatal.

As you can imagine, medically trained doctors are concerned with the trend of digital self-diagnosis. Some websites disregard the facts entirely, touting themselves as health experts while peddling demonstrably false data and miracle treatments. This kind of medical misinformation has been especially prevalent since the rise of COVID-19. 

To make things worse, medical information sites are often filled with ads and sponsored content. You may not even realize that a page is not-so-subtly selling you pharmaceutical solutions as you scroll. You might believe (understandably) that a site providing health information has your best interests at heart. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

Where to Look