Social Media, Misinformation, and Medical Mistrust in the Black Community

The U.S. health care system has a long history of medically exploiting Black Americans, which has resulted in a legitimate and long-held mistrust of medical institutions by the Black community. Today, Black patients are still confronted with racism and discrimination in their interactions with health care providers. Discrimination, bias, and intergenerational mistrust have made the Black community particularly vulnerable to believing false and misleading health information or misinformation . The mass adoption of smartphones and computers, as well as an unprecedented reliance on the internet due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has allowed for the widespread and rapid dissemination of health misinformation, and the primary tool for the spread of misinformation is social media.

This policy brief explores the relationship between mistrust and misinformation, then examines the central role of social media in spreading misinformation. It concludes with policy recommendations for establishing trust in public health communications.