On the frontline: Supporting health professionals to counter misinformation on cancer

One of the biggest health challenges of our time

Health misinformation is not a new challenge, but its scale and impact have increased significantly in recent years. At World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), we are increasingly concerned about the ways in which misleading and inaccurate health information is hindering the public’s understanding of cancer risk, preventing cancer, and survivorship.

The rate at which misinformation is generated and disseminated has increased exponentially in recent years, driven primarily through increased use of social media and the rise of influencers, celebrities, and others sharing health advice online without formal scientific or medical training. This is having real-world consequences with attention diverted away from what we know reduces cancer risk, to promises of quick fixes and miracle cures.

That is why this year for Cancer Prevention Action Week (CPAW), we’re launching a three-year campaign to tackle health misinformation.

To kick off the campaign, CPAW 2026 will focus on sharing the latest evidence on cancer prevention relating to diet, supplements and alcohol. We will also raise awareness of trusted sources and promote WCRF’s practical guides that provide clear and up-to-date information people can incorporate into their daily lives.

In recognition that the issue of health misinformation is a systemic one, WCRF will also set out policy recommendations to address its causes over the course of the campaign. In 2026, these focus on supporting healthcare professionals to counter health misinformation, with future years likely to focus on addressing its causes.

Support for health professionals

Polling commissioned by WCRF highlights the burden health misinformation relating to cancer prevention and survivorship is placing on healthcare professionals. The forthcoming NHS Workforce Plan is a key opportunity to ease this burden.

First, the Plan must increase the number of patient-facing staff, such as general practice nurses, to improve patient access and allow time for conversations about cancer prevention during routine appointments.

Secondly, the Plan must help ensure that healthcare professionals are equipped with the latest information on nutrition, alcohol and physical activity as it relates to cancer. This can be done by embedding protected time for training within workforce planning. Crucially, the NHS Workforce Plan should also encourage education bodies to include cancer prevention and survivorship training in both pre-registration education and as part of continuing professional development (CPD).

The Plan must also recognise the ability to identify and respond to health misinformation as a core skill for patient-facing staff. Crucially, any increase in training must not simply add to existing pressures – instead training must be supported by additional staffing capacity and protected learning time.

Finally, there are many great resources on cancer prevention and survivorship that can support patient-facing healthcare professionals. For example, WCRF’s Alcohol and cancer: Let’s talk guide on how to have conversations with patients about alcohol and cancer can be particularly useful. Guides for the public, such as our 10 ways to protect yourself against cancer poster, provide clear, simple information that can support discussions with patients.

We also host a range of free, CPD certified webinars for health professionals, with one on supplements taking place on Wednesday 24 June – register for your place.

Addressing the drivers of health misinformation

While healthcare professionals have an important role to play in countering health misinformation, the responsibility does not rest solely with them. Instead, a broader, system-wide response is needed.

We know that around 40% of cancer cases in the UK are preventable. The evidence is clear: eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, regular physical activity, and limiting alcohol reduce cancer risk. Yet online, this evidence competes daily with a vast and growing volume of content promoting fad diets, ‘anti-cancer’ supplements, detox regimens, and misleading claims about alcohol. Often commercially motivated and algorithmically amplified, this content frequently promises miracle cures and quick fixes.

The bottom line is that it’s unreasonable to expect people to navigate the overwhelming amount of health misinformation online without any safeguards. Currently, regulations in the UK permit ‘legal but harmful content’, which includes health misinformation. For example, an influencer promoting a supplement which they claim can cure cancer is producing content that is legal, despite it being harmful and untrue. This is unacceptable.

Algorithmic amplification then exacerbates the issue of legal but harmful content. A platform hosting misleading health content passively is one thing, but algorithms and paid advertising actively feeding it to people searching for health advice is more serious. While individual users should be held liable for what they post online, the platforms they post on should also be responsible, especially with regard to the systems they use to moderate, circulate and amplify content.

These are some of the challenges that we will be looking to address as our misinformation campaign develops. In the meantime, we have developed the TRUST Test, a simple tool that can help health professionals and their patients make sense of the health misinformation they encounter.