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Health Services and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research

(P 212) MISINFORMATION IN SARCOMA CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

    Author(s)

  • Jorge Cabrolier, MD (he/him/his)

    Orthopedic Surgeon
    Clinica Alemana Santiago
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

    • Co-Author(s)

  • FB

    Fernando Borquez, MD

    Orthopedic Surgeon
    Instituto Traumatologico Teodoro Gebauer
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

  • HM

    Hernan Miranda, MD

    Orthopedic Surgeon
    Instituto Traumatologico Teodoro Gebauer
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

  • TP

    Tabita Parra, RN

    Nurse
    Instituto Traumatologico Teodoro Gebauer
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

Objective: To evaluate the presence and characteristics of misinformation in sarcoma-related content and user comments on widely used social media platforms, given the increasing role of social media as a health information source and its potential impact on patient understanding and decision-making.

Methods: We evaluated sarcoma-related information on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube by analyzing the first 30 posts retrieved with the keyword “sarcoma” on each platform without filters, all searched on the same day during May 2025. For each post, we recorded publication date, number of visualizations, narrative tone (educational, personal narrative, fear-arousing), author type (health professional, institution, patient, influencer), and the presence of misinformation in user comments. Three independent evaluators assessed post veracity (true, confounding, false) and noted misinformation in comments using predefined criteria, resolving discrepancies by consensus.

Results: A total of 51% of analyzed posts were published within the last two years. Total visualizations reached 86.8 million on Instagram, 10.0 million on TikTok, and 1.7 million on YouTube. Median visualizations per post were highest on TikTok (44,700), followed by Instagram (38,600) and YouTube (6,800). Narrative tones included educational (49%), personal narrative (33%), and fear-arousing (18%). Posts were rated as true in 69%, confounding in 23%, and false in 7%. Institutions posted exclusively true content, while influencers and patients had higher proportions of confounding or false content (influencers: 54% non-true; patients: 42% non-true). Notably, misinformation was present in comments under 47% of posts, including 32 posts (36%) that were rated as true.

Conclusion: While most sarcoma-related social media content was accurate, a substantial proportion was confounding or false, particularly among patient and influencer posts. Importantly, misinformation frequently appeared in user comments, even under accurate posts, underscoring a potential threat to patient education and decision-making.