TY - JOUR
T1 - Superlative use within news articles relating to therapies for multiple sclerosis
AU - Ferrell, Matthew
AU - Ferrell, Sydney
AU - Ottwell, Ryan
AU - Johnson, Jay
AU - Vassar, Matt
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Background: Superlatives are exaggerative terms that may not accurately portray a treatment's effectiveness, safety, or availability. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of superlatives in news articles describing multiple sclerosis treatments. Methods: We searched Google News for 11 prespecified superlative terms describing multiple sclerosis therapies in online news articles. Results: We found that news articles commonly describe non-FDA approved multiple sclerosis therapies with superlative terms without providing clinical evidence or attribution. Additionally, no articles were published on a HONcode certified webpage. Conclusion: It is important that healthcare professionals are aware of medical misinformation presented to the public.
AB - Background: Superlatives are exaggerative terms that may not accurately portray a treatment's effectiveness, safety, or availability. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of superlatives in news articles describing multiple sclerosis treatments. Methods: We searched Google News for 11 prespecified superlative terms describing multiple sclerosis therapies in online news articles. Results: We found that news articles commonly describe non-FDA approved multiple sclerosis therapies with superlative terms without providing clinical evidence or attribution. Additionally, no articles were published on a HONcode certified webpage. Conclusion: It is important that healthcare professionals are aware of medical misinformation presented to the public.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099193391&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.msard.2021.102736
DO - 10.1016/j.msard.2021.102736
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:85099193391
VL - 49
JO - Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
JF - Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
SN - 2211-0348
M1 - 102736
ER -