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Fake news is a recurrent issue in healthcare. Dentistry is not immune to its influence. Patients might find it more convenient to use the Internet to learn more about their oral and dental problems. However, online content may often be misleading and potentially harmful. The advent of COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem. Here, we present simple actions to empower dental professionals against the proliferation of fake news. Understanding the implications of our online activity is important for professionals and our patients.
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’She looks like the real thing. She tastes like the real thing. My fake plastic love’.1 The lyrics from Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees described life in a world full of fake content. It could be said that this now mirrors current life where hidden interests dictate the content offered to people.
In the world of COVID-19, the self-interests of individuals have become the entertainment of others; and now the Internet not only allows us to access dental content, but also allows access to a range of obscure interests. Such ambiguous ideas are given elevated importance that allows them to grow and distort the boundaries of conventional scientific argument. Such ideas are increased and distributed through social media networks. Health-related questions are not immune to this distortion of the truth. Often we will receive information about medical and dental issues from people or other sources that we trust. Naturally, this lowers our ability to critically evaluate and check the reliability of the content on offer. It is not easy to dismiss spurious content, especially if it arrives via trusted channels, such as family and friends.
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