Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are becoming hotbeds for misinformation about hormonal birth control, with influencers promoting "natural" alternatives despite lacking medical expertise. Doctors warn that this trend is leading to widespread misconceptions and could result in unwanted pregnancies, particularly among young people who trust online content and influencers as a primary source.
Conservative commentators also contribute to the spread of misinformation, sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of birth control methods. Meanwhile, legislation restricting access to hormonal birth control is being proposed, potentially exacerbating the issue.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to provide context, commentary and analysis on the issue of the dissemination of misinformation about birth control. If you would like to speak to an expert, please contact GW Media Relations [email protected].
Healthcare
Nancy Gaba is professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Julia Strasser, is the executive director of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health and an assistant research professor of health policy and management at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Disinformation/Misinformation
Ethan Porter is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs and of Political Science at George Washington University. He holds appointments in the School of Media and Public Affairs and the Political Science Department and is the Cluster Lead of the Misinformation/Disinformation Lab at GW's Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Political Communication and other journals.
David Broniatowski, an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering, is GW’s lead principal investigator of the NSF-funded institute TRAILS that explores trustworthy AI. He can discuss a number of topics related to the spread of misinformation as well as efforts to combat misinformation online, including the challenges of tackling misinformation. In Broniatowski’s latest study, researchers analyzed Facebook and its efforts to remove Covid-19 vaccine misinformation during the pandemic. They found that Facebook’s design made it unable to effectively control misinformation.
Conservatism
Matt Dallek, a professor at GW’s Graduate School of Political Management, is a political historian with expertise in the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics. Along with four co-authored books, Dallek is the author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right, which explores the history and influence of America’s right-wing activism.
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