September 11, 2025 • 14 mins
Your social media feed is a minefield of bad health advice, wellness scams, and deliberate lies (Disinformation). It's designed to confuse and exhaust you. This episode is your guide to navigating it safely.
We give you a simple toolkit, developed with expert Dr. Jerry Washington, to regain clarity. Learn to instantly spot the red flags of manipulation and protect your health and wallet.
You can connect with Dr. Washington by clicking on the sites below:
What's the #1 wellness topic you think we should cover?
Thank you for listening! We'd love to hear from you!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr C (00:00):
Welcome to the life podcast.
This is the show for anyonewho's ever wonder what it means
to live a life that yougenuinely love.
I'm your host, Dr.
C.
And here we're all aboutlearning, finding inspiration,
flourishing and evolving.
So let's jump right intotoday's conversation.
(00:21):
So seen that post on TikTok orInstagram, Facebook, they're all
over the place, right?
The one that says eating anorange in the shower can cure
anxiety, or maybe the oneclaiming that hidden parasites
are the real root cause of yoursugar cravings.
(00:41):
I know it sounds wild, butthese ideas get millions of
clicks and views.
That's part of a massive,unregulated, and often deceptive
online wellness industry.
So they were going to be builtbeing a powerful toolkit to
protect ourselves from the floodof bad information online and
we're going to do it using ourfour life principles of course
(01:04):
so first we'll learn and breakdown the science of
misinformation and give you somesimple no fluff strategies to
see through the noise secondwe'll get inspired with our
expert dr jerry washington whowill give us some incredible
insights on how to navigate thisworld with confidence third
we'll map out how to flourishWe'll show you the incredible
(01:27):
rewards that come from buildingyour information immune system.
And finally, we'll evolve.
We'll talk honestly about thechallenges we face and see them
as catalysts for our own growth.
So this isn't just aboutavoiding bad health advice.
It's about learning to navigatethe world with more clarity and
less stress.
So let's get started with ourfirst pillar.
(01:51):
Let's learn what we're upagainst.
To fight this problem, we firsthave to understand that the
stakes are higher than you mightthink.
The U.S.
Surgeon General has warnedabout the real world harm caused
by health misinformation.
We're talking about peoplerejecting proven public health
measures or using treatmentsthat are not just ineffective,
(02:11):
but sometimes toxic and fatal.
The World Health Organizationeven coined a term for it, and
they call it Infodemic.
An epidemic of bad informationthat spreads just like a virus.
And like a virus, there aredifferent strains.
Experts usually break them downinto three categories based on
(02:32):
one critical factor.
Intent.
First, there's misinformation.
This is false information thatis shared without a deliberate
intent to harm.
Think of your aunt who shares ascary sounding article because
she's genuinely concerned.
She doesn't know it's false.
It's a mistake, but one thatcould still have dangerous
(02:54):
consequences.
Then there's disinformation.
This is the nasty stuff.
It's false information that isdeliberately created and spread
to deceive you for money,political gain, or to just sell
chaos.
This isn't a mistake.
It's a weapon.
And finally, there's a sneakiercategory, malinformation.
(03:16):
This is when someone takes realinformation, like a real photo
or a private email, and sharesit out of context specifically
to mislead or cause harm.
The information is true, butit's used in a malicious way.
Okay, so why do we fall forthis stuff?
It's not about being smart ordumb.
It's about how our brains arewired.
(03:37):
We all use mental shortcuts orcognitive biases to get through
the day, and those shortcuts canbe hijacked.
One of the biggest isconfirmation bias.
That's our tendency to believeinformation that confirms what
we already think is true.
If you believe natural isalways better, you're more
likely to accept a story about amiracle herb and ignore a
(03:59):
scientific study that says itdoes nothing.
It doesn't work.
And then there's emotion.
We are far more likely tobelieve and share things that
makes us feel a strong emotion,especially fear and anger.
A headline that screams, thiscommon food is poisoning your
children is designed to triggeryour protective instincts.
(04:19):
Thank you so much for joiningus.
All right, so now it's time toget inspired.
(04:54):
So to help us unpack thiscomplex landscape even further,
I am so thrilled to welcome mycolleague, my dear friend, Dr.
Jerry Washington.
Thank you so much for beinghere today.
And we're so thankful becausehe really is sharing his
expertise in media literacy andhelping us understand this
(05:15):
complex landscape ofmisinformation, disinformation,
and malinformation, which I'mstill learning I'm still trying
to figure out what all thatmeans.
So thank you again for joiningus, Dr.
Washington.
Dr. Washington (05:27):
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
So what do you want me to callyou?
Dr C (05:41):
So we've started by defining misinformation and
disinformation.
And in your work, andmalinformation, excuse me, and
in your work, which of these doyou see as the most dangerous in
the public sphere today andwhy?
Dr. Washington (05:54):
So all of them are dangerous, right?
All of them are dangerous.
The most dangerous, though,would be disinformation.
And that's because it'stargeted and there's an
infrastructure that's been builtbehind it.
So that's the most dangerouspart of it is that it's
monetized.
People are motivated to use it.
But when you think aboutmisinformation and
(06:16):
disinformation andmalinformation, and
malinformation is merely justtrue information that's
disconnected from content orcontext.
And so with disinformation,you're getting someone targeting
a certain community and theyhave monetary support.
Dr C (06:35):
The World Health Organization calls this an
infodemic, almost very similarto the pandemic, right?
So an infodemic which I hadnever heard of until I started
doing some research for oursession.
Is that an accurate metaphor?
Does thinking about falseinformation as a virus help us
understand how to fight it?
Dr. Washington (06:53):
You know, it does.
Metaphors, you know, I'vestudied metaphors as well.
Metaphors, they hide just asmuch as they illuminate.
So the metaphor can only go sofar.
It's really good to understandthe way information spreads
within a community.
It's also important to debunkinformation.
(07:14):
Pre-bunking is what they callit, which is kind of analogous
to getting some type of shot toreduce the effects.
But there's no...
There's no replacement forcritical thinking.
Critical thinking has to bethere.
The problem that the metaphorhas is when it gets into the
(07:35):
realm where we're puttingcensorship on the people.
So we can't censor people, butwe need to educate people enough
to be able to combat themisinformation.
Dr C (07:48):
And with AI, and I know we didn't necessarily talk about
AI even in the opening of thisepisode, but even with AI, I'm
seeing even more and moreopportunities for misleading
information or informationthat's not being checked, right?
So if you're asking AI aquestion and assuming that
(08:09):
you're getting the right answer,I can imagine that it's going
to get even more complicated,right?
Because people are turning toAI to answer even the simplest
of questions.
Dr. Washington (08:21):
Yeah, it is.
You know, there's the idea ofepistemic responsibility And I
know that's a very technicalword, but it's very important.
And it's basically just sayingthat we are responsible for the
information we read and theinformation we share.
(08:50):
to other is accurate.
And artificial intelligence isno different than a library.
Having access to all thatinformation just means you need
to validate it across varioussources.
Dr C (09:07):
Beautiful.
I love that.
So great segue.
Let's talk about tactics.
What are some of the subtlepsychological hooks you see used
again and again, whether it'sto sell a wellness product or to
push a political agenda?
Dr. Washington (09:21):
There's so many, so many.
There are five repeat offendersis what I I like to call, and
I've posted extensively aboutthis, is the confirmation
rewards.
It's really the confirmationbias, right?
It already fits with what Ibelieve.
People tend, when they read itand it's something they already
believe in, they're less likelyto check to see if it's valid or
(09:45):
still valid because we alsohave to understand that
information changes over time asmore information becomes
available.
The hijack.
Right?
Anger and fear, it's amotivator.
And anger and fear will be kindof a knee-jerk reaction to
information.
(10:05):
And so we typically, whensomething angers us or we fear
it, we're less likely to checkand make sure that it's
accurate.
Then there's also youridentity.
And that kind of falls backinto the confirmation bias or
confirmation rewards.
Your identity, right?
The people around you.
(10:25):
that you trust are sayingthings and you believe it.
You know, so that's how thosehooks get in there.
And then there's thepseudoscience type that it
sounds like it could be right,right?
And if you don't go and checkit against multiple different
sources, you might find one pagethat says this is it.
(10:47):
But if you look at acrossseveral different pages, it says
it is this in this particularsituation and not across all
situations.
Dr C (10:55):
So, Finally, for the average person who just feels
overwhelmed, as I had saidearlier, what's the single most
important habit they cancultivate to navigate this world
a little safer?
Dr. Washington (11:06):
One thing that we can all do is be slow to
share the information.
Slow to share.
If it spikes your feelings, ifyou're really emotional about
something, you should slow downbefore you're sharing the
information.
forward.
Take a pause, 90 seconds,whatever it takes, but just
(11:32):
pause for a moment.
Check the source.
Check your emotion.
Look for the evidence.
Stop before you share it andmake sure you understand the
entirety, as much as you can, ofthe information that you think
you want to share forward.
That habit, if we all did, it'skind of like the concept of if
(11:55):
everybody picked up one trashoff of the street, right?
Like if we all did that, justslow to share information and
the validated first, that isimportant.
If you go through my socialmedia, especially like on
Facebook, the stuff I share,even if it's a meme, I've
checked it and I know where it'svalid and where it's not valid.
(12:20):
And I'll usually be pretty muchupfront about where the
information in that particularWow.
Dr C (12:28):
Can I just go over your three points real quick to make
sure that I got them?
Okay.
So check your source.
Where is it coming from?
Why are they putting it out?
Who's putting it out?
What is their intent and theircredibility?
Who are they?
How long have they been, youknow, to your point, are they
public accountable to the publicor accountable to themselves?
Yep.
Did I get that right?
Great.
Dr. Washington (12:48):
Yep.
Dr C (12:48):
Check the emotion, right?
Why are you, what and what, whyare you feeling this way?
Is it anger?
Is it, are you happy?
Is it confirmation?
Right.
Is this something that youbelieve?
And now you're like, see, Itold you.
And because we know thatdisinformation is designed to
hijack our emotions so that wecan't think we can't think
rationally or critically.
Did I get that right?
Good.
(13:10):
I'm learning.
I'm learning.
And then check for an exit.
You mentioned that whether theinformation is real or not, you
could still share it and stateto someone why it's
disinformation or malinformationand also start.
Yeah.
kind of helping other peoplelearn how to fact check
(13:30):
themselves, correct?
Dr. Washington (13:31):
And share the evidence.
Dr C (13:33):
And share the evidence.
Yes.
Thank you so much, Dr.
Washington.
Really appreciate you sharingyour expertise.
You can reach out to Dr.
Washington through his socialmedia, and we will have all that
listed in the show notes.
He is an amazing individual,amazing friend.
And if you have any questionsabout myths, dis or
malinformation, this is your guyto go to.
(13:55):
And that's a wrap for today'sepisode.
who are on the same journey asus.
(14:27):
Thank you for being part of ourcircle.
We'll be back with a brand newepisode next week.
But until then, keep onlearning, stay inspired,
continue to flourish, and neverstop evolving.
I'm your host, Dr.
C, and this is The LifePodcast.
Welcome to the life podcast.
This is the show for anyonewho's ever wonder what it means
to live a life that yougenuinely love.
I'm your host, Dr.
C.
And here we're all aboutlearning, finding inspiration,
flourishing and evolving.
So let's jump right intotoday's conversation.
(00:21):
So seen that post on TikTok orInstagram, Facebook, they're all
over the place, right?
The one that says eating anorange in the shower can cure
anxiety, or maybe the oneclaiming that hidden parasites
are the real root cause of yoursugar cravings.
(00:41):
I know it sounds wild, butthese ideas get millions of
clicks and views.
That's part of a massive,unregulated, and often deceptive
online wellness industry.
So they were going to be builtbeing a powerful toolkit to
protect ourselves from the floodof bad information online and
we're going to do it using ourfour life principles of course
(01:04):
so first we'll learn and breakdown the science of
misinformation and give you somesimple no fluff strategies to
see through the noise secondwe'll get inspired with our
expert dr jerry washington whowill give us some incredible
insights on how to navigate thisworld with confidence third
we'll map out how to flourishWe'll show you the incredible
(01:27):
rewards that come from buildingyour information immune system.
And finally, we'll evolve.
We'll talk honestly about thechallenges we face and see them
as catalysts for our own growth.
So this isn't just aboutavoiding bad health advice.
It's about learning to navigatethe world with more clarity and
less stress.
So let's get started with ourfirst pillar.
(01:51):
Let's learn what we're upagainst.
To fight this problem, we firsthave to understand that the
stakes are higher than you mightthink.
The U.S.
Surgeon General has warnedabout the real world harm caused
by health misinformation.
We're talking about peoplerejecting proven public health
measures or using treatmentsthat are not just ineffective,
(02:11):
but sometimes toxic and fatal.
The World Health Organizationeven coined a term for it, and
they call it Infodemic.
An epidemic of bad informationthat spreads just like a virus.
And like a virus, there aredifferent strains.
Experts usually break them downinto three categories based on
(02:32):
one critical factor.
Intent.
First, there's misinformation.
This is false information thatis shared without a deliberate
intent to harm.
Think of your aunt who shares ascary sounding article because
she's genuinely concerned.
She doesn't know it's false.
It's a mistake, but one thatcould still have dangerous
(02:54):
consequences.
Then there's disinformation.
This is the nasty stuff.
It's false information that isdeliberately created and spread
to deceive you for money,political gain, or to just sell
chaos.
This isn't a mistake.
It's a weapon.
And finally, there's a sneakiercategory, malinformation.
(03:16):
This is when someone takes realinformation, like a real photo
or a private email, and sharesit out of context specifically
to mislead or cause harm.
The information is true, butit's used in a malicious way.
Okay, so why do we fall forthis stuff?
It's not about being smart ordumb.
It's about how our brains arewired.
(03:37):
We all use mental shortcuts orcognitive biases to get through
the day, and those shortcuts canbe hijacked.
One of the biggest isconfirmation bias.
That's our tendency to believeinformation that confirms what
we already think is true.
If you believe natural isalways better, you're more
likely to accept a story about amiracle herb and ignore a
(03:59):
scientific study that says itdoes nothing.
It doesn't work.
And then there's emotion.
We are far more likely tobelieve and share things that
makes us feel a strong emotion,especially fear and anger.
A headline that screams, thiscommon food is poisoning your
children is designed to triggeryour protective instincts.
(04:19):
Thank you so much for joiningus.
All right, so now it's time toget inspired.
(04:54):
So to help us unpack thiscomplex landscape even further,
I am so thrilled to welcome mycolleague, my dear friend, Dr.
Jerry Washington.
Thank you so much for beinghere today.
And we're so thankful becausehe really is sharing his
expertise in media literacy andhelping us understand this
(05:15):
complex landscape ofmisinformation, disinformation,
and malinformation, which I'mstill learning I'm still trying
to figure out what all thatmeans.
So thank you again for joiningus, Dr.
Washington.
Dr. Washington (05:27):
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
So what do you want me to callyou?
Dr C (05:41):
So we've started by defining misinformation and
disinformation.
And in your work, andmalinformation, excuse me, and
in your work, which of these doyou see as the most dangerous in
the public sphere today andwhy?
Dr. Washington (05:54):
So all of them are dangerous, right?
All of them are dangerous.
The most dangerous, though,would be disinformation.
And that's because it'stargeted and there's an
infrastructure that's been builtbehind it.
So that's the most dangerouspart of it is that it's
monetized.
People are motivated to use it.
But when you think aboutmisinformation and
(06:16):
disinformation andmalinformation, and
malinformation is merely justtrue information that's
disconnected from content orcontext.
And so with disinformation,you're getting someone targeting
a certain community and theyhave monetary support.
Dr C (06:35):
The World Health Organization calls this an
infodemic, almost very similarto the pandemic, right?
So an infodemic which I hadnever heard of until I started
doing some research for oursession.
Is that an accurate metaphor?
Does thinking about falseinformation as a virus help us
understand how to fight it?
Dr. Washington (06:53):
You know, it does.
Metaphors, you know, I'vestudied metaphors as well.
Metaphors, they hide just asmuch as they illuminate.
So the metaphor can only go sofar.
It's really good to understandthe way information spreads
within a community.
It's also important to debunkinformation.
(07:14):
Pre-bunking is what they callit, which is kind of analogous
to getting some type of shot toreduce the effects.
But there's no...
There's no replacement forcritical thinking.
Critical thinking has to bethere.
The problem that the metaphorhas is when it gets into the
(07:35):
realm where we're puttingcensorship on the people.
So we can't censor people, butwe need to educate people enough
to be able to combat themisinformation.
Dr C (07:48):
And with AI, and I know we didn't necessarily talk about
AI even in the opening of thisepisode, but even with AI, I'm
seeing even more and moreopportunities for misleading
information or informationthat's not being checked, right?
So if you're asking AI aquestion and assuming that
(08:09):
you're getting the right answer,I can imagine that it's going
to get even more complicated,right?
Because people are turning toAI to answer even the simplest
of questions.
Dr. Washington (08:21):
Yeah, it is.
You know, there's the idea ofepistemic responsibility And I
know that's a very technicalword, but it's very important.
And it's basically just sayingthat we are responsible for the
information we read and theinformation we share.
(08:50):
to other is accurate.
And artificial intelligence isno different than a library.
Having access to all thatinformation just means you need
to validate it across varioussources.
Dr C (09:07):
Beautiful.
I love that.
So great segue.
Let's talk about tactics.
What are some of the subtlepsychological hooks you see used
again and again, whether it'sto sell a wellness product or to
push a political agenda?
Dr. Washington (09:21):
There's so many, so many.
There are five repeat offendersis what I I like to call, and
I've posted extensively aboutthis, is the confirmation
rewards.
It's really the confirmationbias, right?
It already fits with what Ibelieve.
People tend, when they read itand it's something they already
believe in, they're less likelyto check to see if it's valid or
(09:45):
still valid because we alsohave to understand that
information changes over time asmore information becomes
available.
The hijack.
Right?
Anger and fear, it's amotivator.
And anger and fear will be kindof a knee-jerk reaction to
information.
(10:05):
And so we typically, whensomething angers us or we fear
it, we're less likely to checkand make sure that it's
accurate.
Then there's also youridentity.
And that kind of falls backinto the confirmation bias or
confirmation rewards.
Your identity, right?
The people around you.
(10:25):
that you trust are sayingthings and you believe it.
You know, so that's how thosehooks get in there.
And then there's thepseudoscience type that it
sounds like it could be right,right?
And if you don't go and checkit against multiple different
sources, you might find one pagethat says this is it.
(10:47):
But if you look at acrossseveral different pages, it says
it is this in this particularsituation and not across all
situations.
Dr C (10:55):
So, Finally, for the average person who just feels
overwhelmed, as I had saidearlier, what's the single most
important habit they cancultivate to navigate this world
a little safer?
Dr. Washington (11:06):
One thing that we can all do is be slow to
share the information.
Slow to share.
If it spikes your feelings, ifyou're really emotional about
something, you should slow downbefore you're sharing the
information.
forward.
Take a pause, 90 seconds,whatever it takes, but just
(11:32):
pause for a moment.
Check the source.
Check your emotion.
Look for the evidence.
Stop before you share it andmake sure you understand the
entirety, as much as you can, ofthe information that you think
you want to share forward.
That habit, if we all did, it'skind of like the concept of if
(11:55):
everybody picked up one trashoff of the street, right?
Like if we all did that, justslow to share information and
the validated first, that isimportant.
If you go through my socialmedia, especially like on
Facebook, the stuff I share,even if it's a meme, I've
checked it and I know where it'svalid and where it's not valid.
(12:20):
And I'll usually be pretty muchupfront about where the
information in that particularWow.
Dr C (12:28):
Can I just go over your three points real quick to make
sure that I got them?
Okay.
So check your source.
Where is it coming from?
Why are they putting it out?
Who's putting it out?
What is their intent and theircredibility?
Who are they?
How long have they been, youknow, to your point, are they
public accountable to the publicor accountable to themselves?
Yep.
Did I get that right?
Great.
Dr. Washington (12:48):
Yep.
Dr C (12:48):
Check the emotion, right?
Why are you, what and what, whyare you feeling this way?
Is it anger?
Is it, are you happy?
Is it confirmation?
Right.
Is this something that youbelieve?
And now you're like, see, Itold you.
And because we know thatdisinformation is designed to
hijack our emotions so that wecan't think we can't think
rationally or critically.
Did I get that right?
Good.
(13:10):
I'm learning.
I'm learning.
And then check for an exit.
You mentioned that whether theinformation is real or not, you
could still share it and stateto someone why it's
disinformation or malinformationand also start.
Yeah.
kind of helping other peoplelearn how to fact check
(13:30):
themselves, correct?
Dr. Washington (13:31):
And share the evidence.
Dr C (13:33):
And share the evidence.
Yes.
Thank you so much, Dr.
Washington.
Really appreciate you sharingyour expertise.
You can reach out to Dr.
Washington through his socialmedia, and we will have all that
listed in the show notes.
He is an amazing individual,amazing friend.
And if you have any questionsabout myths, dis or
malinformation, this is your guyto go to.
(13:55):
And that's a wrap for today'sepisode.
who are on the same journey asus.
(14:27):
Thank you for being part of ourcircle.
We'll be back with a brand newepisode next week.
But until then, keep onlearning, stay inspired,
continue to flourish, and neverstop evolving.
I'm your host, Dr.
C, and this is The LifePodcast.
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