Your Local Epidemiologist

Your Local Epidemiologist

Health (Mis)communication

How should we respond to people “doing their own research?”

It’s become a punchline—but it points to something broken in how we share health information

Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD's avatar
Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD
Jun 18, 2025
∙ Paid

Like “misinformation” and “disinformation,” the phrase “doing your own research” has become deeply polarizing.

To some, it’s a call to think critically about health information and do their due diligence before making health decisions. To others—especially in science and medicine—it represents the mistaken belief that a Google or AI chatbot search can su…

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