Getty
From fitness trainers to self-proclaimed surgeons, health influencers wearing workout clothes and white coats are building huge followings on social media.
But some health influencers use their platforms to spread false claims.
"Unfortunately there's no magic tick mark or verification mark that means that everything a person says is absolutely true," Claire Wardle, co-director of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University's School of Public Health, said. "You have to do a little bit of digging to see whether a person of trustworthy."
Insider spoke with personal trainers who are active on social media and misinformation experts to talk about the red flags that will help you spot a shady health influencer.
While lots of reputable experts monetize social media, if all an influencer posts is ads, it suggests they may be mostly interested in money.
"It's unfortunately common for fitness influencers to promote products and services that they don't actually use or believe in themselves, simply because they're getting paid," personal trainer Sohee Lee Carpenter, who has a masters in psychology and has been creating social media content for over 10 years, told Insider.
Lee Carpenter does paid partnerships "very sparingly" and said she doesn't see ads as red flags as long as they align with the person's message and the ad is fully disclosed.
"The product I am promoting needs to be something I genuinely like and use myself, and it needs to be something I am comfortable encouraging the general public to also use," she said.
Personal trainer Ben Carpenter, Lee Carpenter's husband, agreed that some people will advertise anything if the paycheck is big enough. Carpenter has been a personal trainer for 16 years and has been making content, much of which debunks fitness myths and misinformation, for 13. He doesn't currently do sponsored posts.
"Be careful if it feels like you're following people who only seem to be advertising to you," he told Insider.
In the fitness industry, transformation photos are a common marketing tactic, Carpenter said. However, it's easy to manipulate photos with lighting, angles, posture, and editing.
Before-and-after photos don't show you a person's relationship with food, fitness, or their body, Lee Carpenter said.
Weight loss maintenance is more important than fat loss. Losing weight quickly can seem appealing, but research shows that slower weight loss is more often maintained.
"Rapid weight loss looks impressive but many people who achieve it do so unsustainably via unhealthy methods," Carpenter said.
If an influencer only posts short-term transformations, it could be a sign they care more about aesthetics and dramatic results than helping people develop healthy lifestyles.
Carpenter thinks long-term aesthetic transformations are more indicative of a good trainer, he said.
"Getting someone results in 12 weeks is one thing, but your client being able to retain those results in the long term is a separate feat entirely," Carpenter said.
Copying other influencers' original content "screams of lack of integrity," Lee said.
"I understand the pressure to be constantly cranking out content, but stealing from someone else, especially when you're copying their words verbatim, is blatant theft," she said.
Some influencers copy other content creators' viral posts in a bid to boost their own following, but having lots of followers doesn't mean someone is an expert, Carpenter said.
Wardle said to watch out for people with MDs who are speaking outside their area of their expertise. A dermatologist won't have the best insight on cardiovascular diseases or the same nutrition training as a registered dietitian.
Some people might purport to be doctors, but are actually chiropractors, naturopaths, or alternative medicine practitioners, said John Gregory, health editor of the misinformation research company NewsGuard. Other people with doctorate degrees in a field unrelated to health might call themselves "Dr." to confuse the public.
Even doctors with the right qualifications should be double-checked through other sources, Wardle said, as many nurses and physicians spread COVID-19 misinformation during the pandemic. The American Board of Medical Specialties website allows people to verify a doctor's certification.
Check the social media personality's background to determine their areas of expertise, Wardle said.
Health influencers spreading misinformation might try to trick you with screen grabs of research or data that appears to prove their point.
If a doctor uses research to over-promise on a treatment, or claims the efficacy rates are at or near 100%, run in the other direction, Gregory said. Legitimate doctors tend to be more cautious when discussing new research and will mention a study's limitations.
"It's very rare that you would have one scientific article that proves something demonstrably," said Wardle.
Wardle said a good place to start looking for legitimate experts is at the United Nation's Team Halo, a group of scientists and healthcare workers dedicated to addressing misinformation. Doctors affiliated with health systems and universities can also be useful sources for information.
Gregory said reliable health authorities will often mention other qualified doctors and scientists. The tip also works the other way — misinformation peddlers will lift each other up. Approach every health influencer or social media personality you encounter with wariness, and do your own research.
