Investigative reporting by The Guardian found that more than half of the top 100 mental health TikTok accounts contain misinformation. Experts established that 52 out of 100 videos about trauma, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression, and severe mental illness contained misinformation.
P.E. MOSKOWITZ; [email protected], @_pem_pem
Moskowitz publishes Mental Hellth, a newsletter on psychology, psychiatry, and culture, and is the author of Breaking Awake: A Reporter’s Search for a New Life, and a New World, Through Drugs.
Moskowitz told the Institute for Public Accuracy: “It should not be surprising to anyone that the internet is filled with misinformation of all kinds. With mental health especially, the narrative is so simplified, largely thanks to drug companies that have sold the public a very simple narrative of mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is funded by prescription drug companies. Psychiatry is largely funded by drug companies. These companies have a vested interest in a black and white picture of mental health and pharmacology.
“That narrative filters down to the TikTok level. These influencers are often parroting the industry without realizing it. They’re not talking about science––they’re talking about marketing. In studies of how the general public views depression, 80 percent believe depression is caused by a ‘chemical imbalance’ even though psychiatrists would tell you that that is not quite true or that it’s more complicated than that. People believe that not because of journalism or scientific articles, but because of drug company advertising. Americans are extremely misinformed about mental health issues. That’s largely due to the industry’s campaign to oversimply how mental health operates.
“Simultaneously, misinformation is attractive in an algorithmically-dictated world, where the most simplistic narratives bloom to the top. Defining mental illness based on microidentities makes people feel in control: ‘XYZ means you have autism,’ or ‘if you relate to this TikTok then you have ADHD.’ They can relate to people on Instagram or TikTok. It’s very oversimplified and identity-based. They are essentially updated Buzzfeed quizzes. The algorithm promotes the most relatable thing. This isn’t unique to mental health. The internet enables us to curate our own reality. The internet is a mirror, not a window––especially with AI.”