The “Doctor” on Your Screen May Not Be Real: Why AI Health Misinformation Is the Next Public Health Challenge
For decades, public health has worked to ensure that people have access to accurate, evidence-based health information. Whether the issue was smoking, HIV/AIDS, vaccinations, opioids, or COVID-19, one truth has remained constant: people make better health decisions when they can trust the information they are given.
That trust is now facing a new challenge.
A recent New York Times investigation uncovered hundreds of AI-generated "doctors," wellness coaches, and patient testimonials being used to market supplements and miracle cures across social media. These videos feature realistic human faces, convincing voices, medical terminology, and emotional personal stories—but many of the people just do not exist. Others use AI to fake real physicians without their permission, lending false credibility to products that have never been proven to work. Many appear specifically designed to target older adults and people living with chronic illnesses. This is not simply another internet scam. It is becoming a public health issue.
Seeing Is No Longer Believing
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the economics of misinformation.
Only a few years ago, creating convincing fake health content required professional video production, actors, or sophisticated editing. Today, anyone with an AI account can create a physician in a white coat, generate a reassuring voice, fabricate before-and-after photos, invent scientific studies, and produce dozens of convincing videos in a single afternoon. And this comes as million lose access to healthcare with cuts to Medicaid, the ACA marketplace, and rising insurance costs.
These videos often promise exactly what vulnerable people want to hear:
Reverse Alzheimer's.
Cure diabetes naturally.
Eliminate arthritis pain.
Lower blood pressure without medication.
Lose weight without dieting.
Most of these claims have little or no scientific support, much less FDA review. Yet the presentations look remarkably authentic, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish legitimate medical advice from sophisticated AI presentations.
Why This Matters to Public Health
Health misinformation is nothing new, but AI dramatically increases both its scale and its sophistication.
Public health professionals often describe misinformation as a "force multiplier." A single false claim can spread to millions of people in hours through social media algorithms that reward engagement rather than accuracy. Unlike traditional advertising, misinformation is often shared by friends and family, making it seem even more “trustworthy.”
The consequences extend far beyond wasted money.
People might delay seeking medical care because they believe a supplement can cure their condition. Patients also might stop taking prescription medications after watching persuasive videos promoting "natural" alternatives. Others may lose confidence in vaccines, cancer treatments, or proven public health recommendations because online influencers present fake research as evidence.
Community pharmacists are already reporting an increase in patients replacing prescribed medications with supplements promoted by influencers or AI-generated content, despite no real evidence that these products work and despite the potential for dangerous drug interactions.
The World Health Organization coined the term "infodemic" during the COVID-19 pandemic to describe an overabundance of information, both true and false, that makes it difficult for people to find trustworthy guidance when they need it most. Artificial intelligence threatens to make future infodemics even larger and more convincing.
Why New Hampshire Should Pay Attention
This issue has particular relevance for New Hampshire. New Hampshire is among the oldest states in average age in America. Many residents manage chronic diseases, take multiple medications, and increasingly use Facebook, YouTube, podcasts, and online searches for health information.
Many also live in rural communities where access to physicians, specialists, or behavioral health providers may require long drives or extended wait times. And, federal cuts mean struggling healthcare centers. So, when access to trusted medical professionals becomes more difficult, online information naturally fills the gap.
Unfortunately, algorithms do not distinguish between the advice of a board-certified physician and an AI-generated influencer selling supplements.
The result is a growing risk that residents make important health decisions based on information that appears credible but is entirely fabricated.
Public Health Has Faced This Before—Just in a Different Form
This is not the first time public health has confronted misinformation.
Snake oil salesmen once traveled the nation selling miracle cures. Tobacco companies later funded misleading science to cast doubt on smoking risks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, false claims about vaccines and treatments spread faster than many public health agencies could respond.
The difference today is speed.
Artificial intelligence allows misinformation to be produced at virtually no cost, personalized for different audiences, translated into multiple languages, and distributed globally within minutes.
Simply correcting false claims after they appear is no longer enough. Public health must become more proactive.
What Can Public Health Do?
Responding to AI-driven misinformation will require more than fact-checking. It will require building resilience before misinformation spreads. New Hampshire's public health community can take several practical steps:
First, digital health literacy should become a core public health skill. Just as schools teach media literacy and libraries teach digital literacy, residents should learn how to evaluate online health information. Understanding how AI-generated content is created may soon become as important as knowing how to read a nutrition label.
Second, public health agencies need to communicate faster and more visibly. Trusted organizations cannot rely solely on websites and press releases. Accurate information must compete in the same online spaces where misinformation spreads.
Third, health care providers should routinely ask patients where they are getting their health information. Conversations about social media, supplements, podcasts, and AI-generated videos should become part of preventive care, particularly for patients managing chronic diseases.
Fourth, public health organizations should partner with pharmacists, libraries, schools, senior centers, and community organizations to educate residents about recognizing misinformation. These trusted local institutions often have deeper relationships with the public than government agencies alone.
Finally, AI itself might become part of the solution. The same technology capable of generating misinformation can also help translate health information into multiple languages, identify emerging misinformation trends, improve accessibility for people with disabilities, and help public health agencies respond more quickly to false claims.
Trust Is Still Public Health's Greatest Asset
Artificial intelligence is not the real enemy. Used responsibly, it has real potential to improve health care, strengthen disease surveillance, accelerate research, and expand access to reliable information. The challenge is ensuring that technology strengthens trust rather than undermines it.
Public health has always adapted to new threats—from contaminated drinking water to infectious diseases to vaping. AI-generated misinformation is simply the latest challenge. The solution will not come from technology alone. It will come from teaching people to ask better questions, verify sources, and recognize that in the age of artificial intelligence, a white coat, a confident voice, and thousands of followers are no longer proof of expertise.
Helping people navigate that new reality may become one of public health's most important responsibilities in the years ahead.