Doctors ‘smuggling education’ into social media content to drown out misinformation

Some experts say one of the best ways to fight a rising tide of medical misinformation on social media is to drown it out with captivating content backed by science.

When Dr. Siobhan Deshauer makes online videos, her primary goal is to demystify medicine. Her secondary goal?

“I call it ‘smuggling in education,'” said the physician and YouTuber, who boasts nearly a million subscribers on the platform. “You’re coming for this mystery and this excitement, but I’m smuggling in some topics that I think are really important and that I’m passionate about.”

Some experts say one of the best ways to fight a rising tide of medical misinformation on social media is to drown it out with captivating content backed by science, and Deshauer, an Ontario-based internal medicine and rheumatology specialist, is among a growing cohort of doctors and researchers doing just that.

Take one of her medical mystery videos, for example. In it, Deshauer tells the story of a woman who had lead poisoning. Doctors took ages to figure out what was causing her symptoms, but ultimately realized they were a result of lead in the Ayurvedic supplements she was taking.

It’s a compelling video with a title designed to draw you in: “Deadly illness from THIS SUPPLEMENT: Medical Mystery.” The video’s thumbnail image shows Deshauer looking shocked in front of a bright blue background. Behind her, big block letters spell out “POISONED” and an arrow points to an X-ray image of someone’s lower leg.

Those are the things that hook the viewer, but for Deshauer, much of the value in the video comes from that “smuggled-in” education.

“I brought in the concept of how are supplements regulated and what should you look for when you’re buying a supplement? How do you keep yourself safe? That wasn’t the topic, that wasn’t the title of the video, but someone would walk away learning those things.”

Deshauer, who goes by the username ViolinMD online in a nod to her pre-medicine career as a violinist, said she got her start making videos when she was in school to document all she was learning.