Health Misinformation: Government Plans & ‘Infovigilance

Omnipresent on the Internet and in the media, false or inaccurate information on health topics can have potentially serious consequences. We saw this particularly during the covid health crisis, where sensationalist messages that create fear and/or distrust were widely relayed.

Remember this info circulating on social networks saying that the Covid-19 vaccine made vaccinated people magnetic, to the point of attracting metal objects! Faced with this phenomenon which has continued to grow ever since, to the point of sometimes putting “in danger” public health – we regularly see messages advocating fasting in cases of cancer, for example – the government unveiled this Monday, January 12, the broad outlines of its response strategy

“Amplified by social networks, health misinformation, whether it concerns vaccination, medical treatments or certain unconventional care practices, can divert patients from care, weaken prevention and fuel a lasting mistrust of science and health institutions,” underlined the ministry in a press release.

“A strategic priority for the State”

Begun in spring 2025 under the leadership of the former Minister of Health, Yannick Neuder, the fight against health misinformation “establishes itself as a strategic priority for the State”, declared to the current minister, Stéphanie Rist, also a professional doctor, during the presentation of her plan. “The phenomenon, far from being marginal, is rooted in our digital daily life and calls for a systemic, transversal and determined response. »

To define its strategy, the ministry relied on an independent expert mission, the report of which was officially submitted to it this same Monday, January 12. Produced by three scientists committed to this front – Mathieu Molimard, professor of clinical pharmacology, Dominique Costagliola, epidemiologist and biostatician, and Hervé Maisonneuve, public health doctor –, this alerts on misinformation that has become « massive », “to the point of threatening the very existence of health systems as we know them”. Its conclusion is clear: the population is not “not armed enough to resist”while detecting and responding to disinformation “remain unorganized”.

The government’s plan is based on a first phase of citizen consultation, via surveys and opinion studies, and the creation of a “Citizen’s Committee” of 27 people, which will hold meetings in mid-February. Already promised in April 2025 by Yannick Neuder, the Health Misinformation Observatory is still “in progress”says the ministry. But it is expected that it will ensure “continuous monitoring”, “publishes barometers” or “leads working groups”.

The government also plans to implement, “from the end of January”, a health infovigilance system, to enable “quickly detect false health information, analyze its sources and disseminate reliable and educational responses” through a network “allies – experts, journalists, institutions, content creators”.

As Laurent Cordonnier, sociologist researcher at the CNRS, points out in an article published on the Inserm website, “it is possible to fight against health misinformation by promoting the dissemination of quality information, rather than by trying to fight against all false rumors”.

Finally, to build “a foundation of trust conducive to health information”the government wishes to further strengthen critical health education “from a very young age”pursue “the accountability of digital platforms” and integrate health misinformation “within research programs”.