The Unfortunate Link Between Health Misinformation and Moneymaking

I recently read a blog post on MedPage (https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/revolutionandrevelation/96978) that discussed the monetization of health information and misinformation. It was written by a physician named Milton Packard who described a conversation that he had with a colleague during the pandemic. Packard has been a columnist for MedPage since 2018 and states that he does not make any money or have any sponsorships for any of the posts that he writes. They are purely written from his perspective, with his personal opinions based on his experience in the medical field. A colleague had recently asked him how much money he made per MedPage article, and the colleague was surprised to find that Packard was writing the articles for free. “You are kidding me! You are giving your work away for free?” The colleague said. “But you are writing whole essays that are very well written and researched. Your opinions are valued, and thousands of people want to read what you write.” The colleague went on to discuss how other physicians like Eric Topol have curated massive twitter followings during the pandemic and who have also joined Substack as a “writer-in-residence” where they share their opinions for a price. But the colleague also discussed the dark side of substack, saying that some people use Substack to profit off spreading health/COVID/vaccine misinformation. “They are making millions of dollars a year by selling their thoughts to subscribers on Substack,” the colleague said. “Being a physician who spreads disinformation about COVID-19 is very profitable.” 

I found the discussion between Packard and his colleague very interesting and eye-opening. In an era where virtually anyone has a platform to speak their mind, due to social media outlets like twitter, information is not as regulated as it used to be. In this regard, it has been hard to control misinformation because anyone can post and anyone can read what they want. However, I think it's an entirely different battle when money comes into the picture. It makes me feel frustrated that people can make millions of dollars each year by promoting misinformation, and I can unfortunately see exactly how that model would work. Someone whose words are provocative, controversial, and extreme may get more views and be in higher demand than someone who speaks with more facts and caution (and who understands the complexity of science), so the person who is spewing misinformation could get paid more. I think it’s very sad to see that money could potentially drive a scientist or doctor to deliberately spread misinformation, and I wonder what the role of hospitals and universities is in regulating this type of speech from their doctors/scientists. 

-Sophia