TikTok creators want you to get medical tests you don’t need. Here’s why you should think twice

We love our social media, and more frighteningly, we love getting medical information from social media. Almost 20% of Americans say they trust TikTok as much as doctors, even though 45% of the medical information on TikTok is false or misleading.

Now, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open, the problem goes deeper: Social media might be promoting the overuse of medical tests such as MRIs. In some circles, such tests have even become a luxury status symbol.

What the new study found

Researchers analyzed a cross-section of 982 posts from account holders with more than 194 million combined followers on Instagram and TikTok. They selected posts referring to five different tests, which have evidence of being overused and failing to improve health outcomes when used for people who don’t need them.

The tests included:

• full-body MRIs
• early-cancer detection
• egg reserve tests (which get used as a proxy for fertility)
• gut microbiome tests
• low-testosterone blood tests

The researchers found that 87% of the posts mentioned the benefits of the tests, 84% had a promotional tone, and 51% encouraged the audience to go get tested.

Only 15% mentioned the harms of using the tests, while about 5% minimized the harms involved. A mere 6% of the posts cited evidence, while 34% cited personal anecdotes.

Overall, 68% of posters had a financial interest in the test they were promoting.

“ posts were promotional, were from account holders with some form of financial interest in promoting the test, and mentioned test benefits. . . . These posts have the potential to mislead the public to getting tested despite the lack of evidence to support these tests and the potential for harms related to overdiagnosis or overuse,” the researchers wrote.