Artificial intelligence is being discussed as a defence against health misinformation online, yet its real value may lie less in automatically deciding what is true or false and more in helping health professionals understand what people are worried about, where misleading narratives are emerging, and how credible information should reach different communities.
A new mini review titled 'AI-enabled health communication to address misinformation on social media', written by Yuqi Hu of the University of California, San Diego and published in Frontiers in Communication, examines how AI could become part of a wider health communication response rather than simply serving as an automated misinformation detector. The review covers research published between 2000 and 2026 and brings together evidence from public health, communication and computer science.
Health misinformation is already found across subjects ranging from infectious diseases and vaccines to cancer, diet, reproductive health, tobacco and e-cigarettes, while generative AI has created another route for producing convincing but inaccurate material. Exposure to misleading health claims can weaken health literacy, encourage unsafe choices and interfere with prevention or treatment, making the problem far more serious than an occasional incorrect social media post.
The strongest potential use identified in the review is AI-enabled social listening, where...
Artificial intelligence is being discussed as a defence against health misinformation online, yet its real value may lie less in automatically deciding what is true or false and more in helping he...