Sunscreen misinformation videos on Tiktok might be rare, but they're getting the most engagement
Most sunscreen videos on TikTok are positive, but the videos that do rely on misinformation to discourage sunscreen use seem to get more engagement, according to international research published today in the journal PLOS Digital Health.
The team looked through sunscreen-related tags to find 971 of the most-viewed videos on the topic, then analysed their content and tracked their engagement.
The team found 86.8% of the videos promoted sunscreen use, and most of these focused on cosmetic benefits rather than reducing skin cancer risk.
Only 6% of videos were critical of sunscreen from a health perspective, but these videos had a disproportionately high number of likes, shares and comments.
So while health misinformation around sunscreen isn't necessarily dominating the site, this dramatic clickbait is getting a disproportionate level of attention.
The following article was written by Dr Michelle Wong, a Science Communicator from Lab Muffin Beauty Science, which can be found on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Michelle debunks misinformation about cosmetics on social media.
Dr Wong spoke about misinformation on social media at AusSMC's first Science Misinformation Symposium last week in Sydney. She highlighted sunscreen misinformation as one of the big problems on the beauty and cosmetics corner of social media.
Here's what Dr Wong has to say about the PLOS Digital Health study:
"I agree generally with the overall findings:
Content containing misleading and contrarian ideas gets greater audience interaction, due to emotional impact, which boosts its virality.
Sunscreen health misinformation is a minority of content on TikTok, especially content that does not contain any positive messaging about sunscreen.
Despite being a minority of content, it’s influential - misinformation doesn’t have to be overwhelming to be of concern, and repeated exposure increases the perception of its accuracy among all audiences.
In my experience debunking sunscreen misinformation on social media over the past 10+ years, these have been some of the most significant challenges. Social media algorithms currently incentivise attention-grabbing content, there are few repercussions for spreading misinformation, and most people struggle to critically assess scientific claims.
But I think sunscreen misinformation resonates with a wider audience than the authors suggest, and may be more widespread than their results indicate:
The methodology used in this study may have misestimated the prevalence of misinformation on TikTok. The importance of hashtags in the TikTok algorithm has been declining since perhaps 2022, so using hashtags to find videos may not accurately reflect the misinformation that users are seeing. In my opinion, this highlights the need for social media platforms to provide better data for researchers.
The idea that sunscreen can be harmful to health was already very widespread before TikTok, so I think this content would be influential for a broader audience than the authors seem to suggest. For example, a 2017 Cancer Council survey found that only 55% of Australians recognised it was safe to use sunscreen every day.
I would go further than the authors on their finding that sunscreen misinformation has a disproportionately heavy impact. Given the widespread misconception that sunscreen is harmful to health, I think subtler types of sunscreen misinformation can increase the illusory truth effect.
In my opinion, content that is overall positive about sunscreen but contains this more subtle misinformation is a greater concern. It can be more persuasive for less conspiratorially-minded audiences, as it is often posted by perceived authorities (e.g. medical doctors, scientists), and is less likely to be immediately dismissed (it contains a nugget of truth). Authority bias is extremely powerful on social media, especially if it appears to be endorsing a conspiratorial belief - this has been the 'stickiest' misinformation in my experience.
It is rare that I read an article on sunscreen that does not contain at least one piece of sunscreen misinformation, including those that claim to be busting sunscreen myths, and including papers in the peer-reviewed literature. Many internet sources cite the introductions of peer-reviewed articles as evidence, and the vast majority of the general public views any 'peer-reviewed' text as authoritative, so I think more careful wording of the introduction could avoid perpetuating some common myths further ..."
Read the full response on the EXPERT REACTION page here.
This article originally appeared in Science Deadline, a weekly newsletter from the AusSMC. You are free to republish this story, in full, with appropriate credit.
Contact: Olivia Henry
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