My research team and I came across an openly shared, public folder that was circulating in our local community in the fall of 2021 that contains various documents related to health-related content regarding COVID-19. The author of the documents does not provide their full name but states that they are a nurse. By following links provided in the public folder we were able to find that the author has a website, a campsite page, an Instagram page with over 10,000 followers, and posts podcasts and other videos related to COVID-19 frequently.
According to the author, they have been a Registered Nurse (RN) since the 1980’s with a specialty in High-Risk Obstetrics. It is important to note that because the author’s name is not given, we could not verify the author’s credentials, experience, expertise, or affiliations past or present.
Considering the biographical information by the author, we can conclude that the author does not have the credentials, experience, or expertise to provide health care information related to COVID-19 for the following reasons:
- An RN does not have medical training related to virology, infectious disease, or any related field that would deem them an expert on COVID-19.
- Experience working with obstetrics does not yield the experience or expertise related to working with COVID-19.
The author states numerous times on their website, campsite page, and Instagram page that they are “unable to give medical advice.” In the authors’ videos and podcasts, they made numerous statements regarding being tracked, sharing “secret” information, and the need to code up the language used to avoid censorship and anonymity. Even so, the author uses platforms, such as Google and Instagram, that include consumer monitoring, tracking, and sharing in their user agreements, which are contradictory to the statements made in the videos and podcasts.
By examining the authors online platforms, numerous requests for donations and other payments are frequent, such as requests for Venmo and PayPal donations. The author also provides a link to their Amazon store, where they earn funds from consumer qualifying purchases. The author’s website also provides a link to a store where consumers can purchase items marketed to treat or prevent COVID-19 directly through the author. Additionally, the author offers scheduled consultations for an undisclosed fee.
My research team and I decided to fact check the information contained in the documents considering that the author claims that they do not have time for “peer-review,” which is exceptionally important and one of the hallmarks of science, the research method, and health care. We fact checked every statement made, which took several months to complete. We wanted to be thorough. Our findings are located here. Fact check related statements are highlighted in yellow. To avoid redundancy, some sections of the initial documents are not included. We also removed the author’s name from our documents.
Generally, we found that
- Many statements use outdated research or studies that were not related to COVID-19 to make incorrect claims about treatment or prevention of COVID-19.
- Many of the sources cited in the documents do not exist or cannot be verified or reviewed.
- Many statements misinterpret the results of the studies cited, such as confusing correlation and causation. On numerous occasions correlational research, likely with third-variable problems and lack of control, are discussed as causation.
- Various statements in the documents provide statistics that are not included in the sources used for that information, meaning that the statistics provided are fabricated or cannot be verified. Additionally, many of these statements have been shown to be false and discredited by reputable sources.
- Most supposed experts cited in the documents have been discredited by their scientific field and are known to spread false, misleading, or misinformation related to COVID-19.
- Various experts cited in the documents do not have the credentials, experience, or expertise to make the statements made regarding COVID-19.
- Various statements are made that have no source provided to support the statement.
- Many of the statements are redundant, stating the same false information or misinformation multiple times.
- Most of the recommended prevention and treatment protocols for COVID-19 contained in the documents include recommendations that have been disputed by experts in the field, include unproven methods, are known to be ineffective, go against current recommendations that have been proven effective in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, and include suggestions that themselves can have dangerous health consequences, including death.
- Some statements made are accurate but are embedded within health-related misinformation and/or are misconstrued.
- Numerous statements made in the documents are emotionally laden, fear based, or rely on conspiracy theories, likely inducing anxiety, stress, and even paranoia among consumers.
- Many statements are based on pseudoscience.
- Many statements exaggerate statistics and do not explain the rarity of negative side effects related to known prevention and treatment methods for COVID-19. Statements also use rare instances of negative side effects as the norm, leading consumers to believe that negative side effects are much more common than they actually are.
- Legal protections related to COVID-19 treatment and prevention are falsified, leading consumers to believe that they have no protection if they were to experience an unlikely negative side effect.
- Numerous false statements are made regarding health care professionals, scientists, and medical experts that have been yielding their expertise in combating COVID-19.
- While obviously not as important as the false statements made, the original documents contained numerous spelling, grammatical, citation, and formatting errors throughout.
Based on our fact checking efforts and history in researching the effects of fake news among consumers, my research team and I conclude that the information related to COVID-19 contained in the openly shared, public folder on Google drive is false, misleading, and health-care related misinformation. We urge members of the community to fact check the information that they consume and to make sure that the guidelines they follow related to both prevention and treatment of COVID-19 come from reputable scientific sources and organizations where combined expertise, experience, and scientific research lead to the recommendations. We make our fact checking public, which can be found here, with the intent of aiding members of our community as they navigate the pandemic.
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