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

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…