ACP's Efforts to Fight Medical Misinformation and Disinformation

ACP is committed to stopping and preventing the spread of disinformation and misinformation. We vigorously support the use of science and scientific expertise, based on the best available evidence, and remain concerned about the spread of both disinformation and misinformation on social media, public news channels and other digital channels.

ACP continues to provide evidence-based scientific information regarding COVID-19, vaccines and treatments as well as other medical topics. The College’s efforts range from weekly publishing of evidence-based scientific content, creating educational materials and issuing public statements.

ACP Resources

  • Two video series from ACP provide vaccine education and strategies to help combat health misinformation. “Ask Your Internal Medicine Physician” is a patient-facing series featuring internal medicine physicians answering the public's top vaccine-related questions. “Physician to Physician Conversations” is a clinician-facing series featuring practical approaches to address vaccine and health misinformation with patients. Several of the episodes are also offered in Spanish.

Ask Your Internal Medicine Physician

Watch the full series on YouTube

Physician to Physician Conversations

Watch the full series on YouTube
  • ACP develops Rapid Living Practice Points through ACP’s Scientific Medical Policy committee and Clinical Guidelines and recommendations through the Clinical Guidelines Committee, based on the best available evidence to provide timely clinical advice, address key clinical questions, and help clinicians provide the best health care possible.
  • Annals of Internal Medicine publishes original, evidence-based scientific content for internal medicine physicians in Annals of Internal Medicine on a weekly basis. Annals of Internal Medicine and Annals of Internal Medicine Clinical Cases combined to publish over 500 articles and case reports related to COVID-19, and Annals offers a robust collection of commentaries, essays, podcasts, and graphic narratives related to COVID-19.
  • ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine host a series of forums for members on important clinical and public health topics relevant to daily practice, a series which began in the early days of COVID-19 and continues.
  • ACP’s COVID-19 Resource Center was activated in April 2020 and provided real time, up to date information and comprehensive resources during the pandemic. Resources included the Physicians’ Guide to COVID-19, and provided guidance in the realms of clinical, public and ethical policy, as well as other educational materials concerning COVID-19, vaccines and related issues.

Collaborative Efforts

ACP serves on the advisory committee for the Council Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and World Health Organization's (WHO) initiative to Identify Credible Sources of Health Information that could be used by social media companies. ACP has also joined the Coalition for Trust in Health and Science initiative to curb misinformation and promote science-based information.

Additionally, ACP is working with a broad array of associations, boards and societies on several different initiatives to mitigate medical misinformation.