PS — If you have any interesting podcasts you go to for real health advice from people with real medical training, drop them in the comments. I’d love to check them out.

We Americans want real and parasocial relationships with people who understand us and can help us explore sensitive subjects.

And we’re not getting that from healthcare.

SNL gets it. When will healthcare leaders catch up? Watch the segment: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfsE...

I use these major media platforms not to hold them up as bastions of trustworthiness, but to illustrate that the game has changed.

That means #healthcare must change, too.

Joe Rogan’s podcast, for example, has 14.5 million followers on Spotify and 16.4 million subscribers on YouTube. CNN and Fox News struggle to pull in 5% of that audience with their primetime lineups.

And podcasts hosted by dudes with no medical expertise — but no shortage of opinions on medical topics — boast audiences that dwarf legacy media platforms.

That’s not true anymore.

Science-denying leaders are poised to assume control of #PublicHealth.

Misinformation makes us and our friends and neighbors sicker. It weighs down our #healthcare system, raises costs, and drives burnout.

It’s not something any of us can afford to ignore.

I’m curious: How are you augmenting your approach to social media in light of this news?

Ending fact-checking signals that the company is prepared to do the opposite.

We’re curious, and eager for reliable answers.

Meta could succeed in healthcare where other tech disruptors have failed simply by taking more steps to protect us from misinformation and connect us to the reliable health information we deserve.

And for a healthcare company—for any company that influences our health decisions—eschewing self-regulation is irresponsible.

In a post-pandemic world, people want to be knowledgeable about their health. We wear watches and rings that measure our steps, our mood, our sleep.

Today, 59 million Americans turn to social media for healthcare information. According to KFF, nearly 1 in 4 adults say they use social media at least once a week to find health information and advice.

In other words: Meta is a healthcare company, whether it realizes it or not.