Doctor Urges Young People Not to Easily Trust Health Content on Social Media

Doctor and founder of the Health Collaborative Center (HCC), Dr. dr. Ray Wagiu Basrowi, has urged the public not to fully trust health content on social media, especially if the information comes from creators who are not healthcare professionals.

According to Dr. Ray, many influencers currently convey health messages with the primary aim of marketing products. As a result, the information delivered is often not comprehensive because it is used as a means of endorsement.

‘Many influencers drive health messages merely as a marketing guise. It turns out a lot of the content is an endorsement for drugs or health products. This is what is dangerous,’ Dr. Ray said during an interview in Jakarta on Thursday (25/6/2026).

For this reason, Dr. Ray reminded the public not to use social media content as a basis for personal diagnosis or treatment. The public must be able to distinguish between accurate, trustworthy information and information that tends to be misleading.

‘That is why the public, especially young people, must be given the tools to validate. Which information is correct, which information can be trusted, and which information is merely nice to know to enrich our health literacy,’ he said.

Dr. Ray acknowledged that social media is currently one of the effective mediums for improving public health literacy. Moreover, platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and chain messages on WhatsApp are easily accessible and shared with close contacts. Unfortunately, this ease of access is not always accompanied by accuracy of information.

Based on research from the Pew Research Center, about 47 per cent of users stated that the health information they found on social media was less accurate or even completely inaccurate. The study also found that many people, especially those under the age of 50, obtain health information from health and fitness influencers, even though most of these influencers are not professional medical personnel.