‘Fake News’ in urology: evaluating the accuracy of articles shared on social media in genitourinary malignancies

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of the most popular articles on social media platforms pertaining to genitourinary malignancies, and identify the prevalence of misinformation available to patients. Materials And Methods The ten most‐shared articles on popular social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Reddit) were identified for prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, testis cancer, and PSA testing using a social media analysis tool (August 2017 and August 2018). Articles were reviewed for accuracy by comparing the article information against available scientific research and consensus data. They were classified as accurate, misleading, or inaccurate. Mann‐Whitney U test was used for statistical comparison. Results Articles pertaining to prostate cancer were the most shared across all social media platforms (399,000 shares) followed by kidney cancer (115,000), bladder cancer (17,894), PSA testing (8,827), and testicular cancer (7,045). The prevalence of inaccurate or misleading articles was high: prostate cancer (7/10 articles), kidney (3/10 articles), bladder (2/10 articles), testis (2/10 articles), and PSA testing (1/10 articles). There was a significantly higher average number of shares for inaccurate (54,000 shares, p<0.01) and misleading articles (7,040 shares, p<0.01) compared to accurate articles (1,900 shares). Inaccurate articles were 28 times more likely to be shared than factual articles. Conclusion Misleading or inaccurate information on genitourinary malignancies are commonly shared on social media. This study highlights the importance of directing patients to appropriate cancer resources and potentially argues for oversight by the medical and technology communities.