Thank you for reading. We made a guide for you, our readers. These are some of the tips we use ourselves when a health headline sounds too dramatic, too good, or too misleading to be true. We hope you find this helpful and would love you to share this with your networks.
Those Nerdy Girls &+ Guide to Reading Health Headlines
Five tips to consider before you believe or share:
1. Check the source before you check the claim
Trustworthy reporting tends to have three things: Accountability, Balance, and Credibility. Ask yourself:
• Does the article name its sources or state only “experts say”?
• Does it include more than one perspective, especially if there is disagreement within the topic?
• Is the media source more known for getting things right or for just getting clicks?
If an article or post doesn’t meet these criteria, treat the claim as unproven until you find a source that can.
2. Give wild claims a quick gut check
Before you share a post, ask:
• Does it make sense with what else you know? A claim that goes against decades of evidence needs a lot more than one headline behind it.
• Could something else explain it? Correlation isn’t causation. Two things happening together doesn’t mean one caused the other (famous example: There are more drownings in the summer because more people spend time by the water, and folks eat more ice cream in warm weather. This doesn’t mean ice cream causes drowning.)
• Is it a pattern , or a one-off? One study is a data point, not a verdict. Look for a pattern across multiple studies.
This is the same logic scientists use to separate a real, consistent finding from a coincidence or something that warrants further study. You can use it too.
3. Know the tricks that make bad info feel true
Misleading information doesn’t usually look false. It’s often built to feel true. Watch for:
• The framing effect: the same fact can sound alarming or reassuring depending on the wording. (“90% survival rate” and “10% death rate” describe the same outcome)
• Negativity bias: our brains give bad news extra weight, and scary headlines get more clicks, so they’re used often. But remember, fear isn’t evidence.
• The bandwagon effect: “everyone’s saying this” is not the same as “this is true.” Popularity, even in your own circles or the feed you see, isn’t proof.
Learning to recognize these tricks is often enough to break its spell.
4. Spot the red flags of a misleading health claim
Be extra cautious if something claims to prevent, treat, or cure a health condition, and if it also:
• Promises a fast, dramatic, or “miracle” result
• Uses words like “secret,” “breakthrough,” or “they don’t want you to know”
• Has no independent research behind it, just testimonials
• Pressures you to buy now or act immediately (and might only feel available to those who can afford it)
Real medicine and treatments that work, rarely need urgency to sell themselves.
5. Stay curious, not cynical
You don’t have to doubt everything, just stay curious, like a good scientist:
• Proactively seek out competing views
• Let your mind be flexible when the evidence changes
• Separate what you know from what you hope is true
This mindset is available to anyone, any time you come across a piece of news.
Bottom line: Good health information holds up when you ask it a few honest questions.
Bad information usually doesn’t.
Adapted from TNG’s archive at thosenerdygirls.org: “What are the hallmarks of high-quality reporting?”, “You see a WILD claim on social media, but how do you know it’s true?” (Bradford-Hill), “What is the framing effect?”, “What is Negativity Bias?”, “What is the Bandwagon Effect?”, “What’s a health scam?”, “How to think like a scientist.”
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Prefer a printable copy of Those Nerdy Girls &+ Guide to Reading Health Headlines? You can download it here.
