In the first three months of 2025, Canada has seen 496 cases of measles: more than 10 times the number reported by this time last year.

A highly contagious disease, measles was considered eliminated in Canada back in 1998 due to the efficacy and widespread use of vaccines.

Social media driving anti-vaccination disinformation

Why, then, are we seeing its return?

The answer is simple: fewer kids are being vaccinated, and social media is playing a key role in this trend.

My social media algorithm blasts my phone daily with videos of unqualified wellness influencers spewing all kinds of outlandish health claims, often targeted towards the health of children.

Fluoridated water, seed oils, food dyes, and vaccines have all been falsely labeled by influencers as toxins that are poisoning children and making them sick.

“If the wellness industry knows anything, it is that fear drives profit.”

More often than not, these scare tactics are a ploy to get viewers to buy whatever the influencer is selling, be it supplements, a meal plan, or a detox kit.

If the wellness industry knows anything, it is that fear drives profit.

This is especially true when following anti-vaccination messaging on social media.

A 2021 report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that two-thirds of anti-vaccination content on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) was coming from only 12 influencers, all of whom profit financially from their messaging (including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s new secretary of Health and Human Services).

They have amassed millions of followers, and dollars, by spreading fear and confusion about vaccine safety.

And it works!

Studies have shown that fear-based messages in social media, like those surrounding vaccines or children’s health, are more likely to go viral, whether they are true or not.

Anxiety behind ‘magical’ solutions

According to a review written in 2022, anxiety plays a huge role in the spread of misinformation.

When confronted with worrisome information online or in the media, we commonly seek more information to try to regain control.

More often than not, this anxiety will drive us right into the arms of a wellness influencer selling some “magic” solution.

By capitalizing on fear and anxiety, wellness influencers are lining their own pockets, and eroding public trust in science and health-care institutions while they do it.

“Problems can arise when the public begins to trust what they hear from influencers instead of experts and institutions.”

Public trust, which refers to the level of confidence the public has in its government and public institutions, is required for a society to thrive.

While Canada typically has high public trust compared to other countries, research suggests public trust has declined in recent years, particularly in politically right-leaning individuals.

Problems can arise when the public begins to trust what they hear from influencers instead of experts and institutions.

According to a report by the Council of Canadian Academies, online misinformation has led to illness and death from unsafe health interventions, wasted money on ineffective products, increased health-care costs, and even delayed public policy action.

A recent survey by the Canadian Medical Association found that 23 per cent of respondents had a negative health reaction from following advice they read online.

Seeking alternatives in an information vacuum

To make matters worse, online influencers are accountable to no one.

Unlike public institutions, which are subject to regulations and other checks and balances to ensure they are recommending safe, evidence-based practices, influencers can say or recommend whatever they want, and it doesn’t need to be safe or evidence-based.

However, it is not impossible to see how we have gotten here.

I’d be remiss to say that the Canadian health-care system is not partially to blame.

“Misinformation preys on vulnerable individuals.”

Access to primary health care and family doctors in Canada has dropped from 93 per cent in 2016 to 86 per cent in 2023, making it harder for Canadians to access a doctor for reliable health information.

Wait times to see a specialist are at an all-time high, and only 26 per cent of Canadians could get a same- or next-day appointment with their primary provider in 2023.

If Canadians can’t access care through conventional means, then they are much more likely to seek out alternative solutions online.

In light of this, public health, health-care professionals and science communicators need to do a better job of debunking misinformation and providing comprehensive education on topics like vaccines or food safety, in accessible and relevant ways.

If people are looking for health information on TikTok or Instagram, then the health-care system needs to meet them there.

Misinformation preys on vulnerable individuals, often leading to worse health outcomes instead of real solutions.

We need to be better at recognizing health misinformation for what it is: a tactic aimed to drive fear and distrust for personal gain.

After your money

So, the next time you come up against a claim online that evokes a fearful or emotional reaction, I’d urge you to consider the following: Is this influencer trying to sell you something?

If they are, they are probably blowing something out of proportion to make money off of your fear.

Don’t buy into it.

Today, the wellness industry has resurrected measles, a disease once thought to be eliminated.

If we fail to confront the misinformation crisis, who knows where it could take us next.