From Scroll to Success: Exploring the Role of Science Communicators in Ozempic’s TikTok Triumph
In the past year, you can’t open any form of media without hearing about Ozempic — the “magic” weight loss drug initially approved for diabetes. Ozempic is polarizing to say the least. Some people are obsessed with it and praise its use from the rooftops. Others are angered that this drug is being advertised as a magical diet pill. Either way, the cultural impact, financial success, and scientific innovation of ozempic cannot be denied.
Ozempic was originally approved by the FDA in 2017 for patients with diabetes. In 2021, a similar drug called Wegovy was approved for weight loss. The popularity of these drugs skyrocketed so much that they are on the FDA shortage list. But how exactly did this happen and what are the implications of Ozempic’s success on researchers and science communicators? The success of Ozempic lies at the intersection of diet culture, celebrity influence, social media, and scientific innovation.
Traditional media has marketed diet pills beginning in the 1940s — targeting women and referring to them as “rainbow pills”. However, these pills were eventually removed by the FDA due to linked deaths and injuries. Mainstream media today continues to perpetuate diet culture by focusing on major celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Christian Bale sharing their relationships with weight loss and dieting for their work. One of the most surprising supporters of Ozempic is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has been a high-profile ambassador and member of the board of diet company, WeightWatchers (WW), since 2017. However, in Feb 2024 Oprah announced she was leaving the company and revealed she too used Ozempic.
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for,” Oprah told People.
The decision and announcement had a large impact on the company. WeightWatchers is now facing declining stock prices and will be rolling out a clinic that allows doctors to prescribe weight loss medications to patients. Her decision has potentially impacted the public as well with a survey of over 900 people by Civic Science showing that 28% of people are more likely to use similar weight loss medication due to celebrity influence (such as Oprah).
But the success of Ozempic has been attributed in mainstream media to TikTok making health information much more accessible. Patients are now turning to Tik Tok for health information as a platform to communicate their needs from health providers and get information from physicians themselves. While there is no direct data showing that the app can influence patient’s decisions there is concern of people making decisions based on what they hear people talk about on Tik Tok.
“Many people who spend time on TikTok all day and see the same faces every day, they feel like they have a relationship with these people,” Claire Wardle, PhD, co founder and co director of the Information Futures Lab and professor of the practice at the Brown School of Public Health, said in an interview. “Whilst we don’t have a lot of empirical evidence right now about the impact between the content and people’s behaviors, my worry is that more and more people are making decisions based on what they’re hearing people talk about on TikTok.”
This begs the question what initiatives need to be created to ensure that health information is accurate. With TikTok rolling out their new STEM feed, an algorithm featuring content across science, tech, engineering, and math, it is unclear whether content focused on health will make it onto this special feed. Further, it’s unclear how (or if) this information will be screened for accuracy and reliability. Additionally, with this increased emphasis on STEM related content will there be proper compensation for creators who contribute content to this feed.
“We use internal systems to identify videos that are STEM-related, then work with a third-party partner to assess the content to ensure it’s appropriate for the STEM feed, and a third-party fact-checking organization to assess the reliability of the information presented.” — TikTok Support Website
The Ozempic hashtag on TikTok has over 80k posts and millions of views. The content ranges from warning the public of the use of the drug for cosmetic purposes to positive personal experiences. One creator, Kylie Johnston, heard about the drug through Tik Tok, and shared her increase in confidence since losing weight from using Ozempic. Her following is over 18k.
“I feel more confident in my own skin. I have lost 41 lbs. I feel free from the strong hold food had on me for so many years” - Johnston shares.
The increased social media coverage has led to shortages and even resulted in shady off brand versions of the drug that are not FDA approved as safe or effective. Fake diabetes diagnoses have even been given out so that users can get their hands on Ozempic, however the concern is that this drug is widely unstudied in populations without diabetes or obesity. Science communicators with larger followings such as Peter Attia, the author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, have used their platforms to emphasize the unknown long term effects of Ozempic.
Ozempic has shown how social media has altered the landscape of traditional marketing and science communication. This has shown there is a huge opportunity and a necessity for researchers and science communicators to be a part of the marketing ecosystem, not only for innovations like Ozempic, but for almost any product. Researchers and science communicators can serve as reliable sources for brands ensuring that their end users have confidence in their products. Similar involvement of science communicators has been seen across beauty brands, hair care brands, and now in the pharmaceutical space. But with the increased focus on science-backed content there needs to be a way to vet this information. Without ensuring that accurate, reliable, science-based information is reaching the public that only puts end users of Ozempic, and other innovations to come, at risk. While there are a lot of news articles on how to tackle this issue, policies are needed to create structure as social media evolves and collides with other fields such as STEM and healthcare.
