Superlative use within news articles relating to therapies for multiple sclerosis

Matthew Ferrell; Sydney Ferrell; Ryan Ottwell; Jay Johnson; Matt Vassar

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2021.102736

Superlative use within news articles relating to therapies for multiple sclerosis

Matthew Ferrell, Sydney Ferrell, Ryan Ottwell, Jay Johnson, Matt Vassar

Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Article number	102736
Journal	Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Volume	49
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2021.102736
State	Published - Apr 2021

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@article{8443950d35bf4446b186eacabd8c7caa,

title = "Superlative use within news articles relating to therapies for multiple sclerosis",

abstract = "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.",

author = "Matthew Ferrell and Sydney Ferrell and Ryan Ottwell and Jay Johnson and Matt Vassar",

year = "2021",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1016/j.msard.2021.102736",

language = "English",

volume = "49",

journal = "Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders",

issn = "2211-0348",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

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

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

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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 -