In the whirlwind of early 2020, Dr. Jerome Adams, then the U.S. Surgeon General, found himself thrust onto the world stage, battling the nascent threat of COVID-19. Fast forward six years, and while the pandemic’s immediate grip has loosened, a new viral alarm is sounding. This time, it’s hantavirus, making headlines after an outbreak linked to a cruise ship. Yet, as before, Adams and his fellow medical experts aren’t just reacting to the disease; they’re actively fighting another insidious menace: the wildfire of health misinformation that spreads almost as fast as the virus itself. The hantavirus, though deadlier in terms of mortality rate than COVID-19, is thankfully far less transmissible, meaning the specter of another global shutdown isn’t looming. Still, the news has ignited a familiar wave of anxiety, fueling panic, unfounded theories, and skewed interpretations across social media platforms. For Adams and other dedicated doctors, this “infodemic” is the true danger to public health, and they are determined to counter it head-on.
Dr. Neil Stone, a consultant in infectious diseases from London, epitomizes this new front line. When not treating patients, he’s often found on X (formerly Twitter), actively refuting the deluge of health “facts” that are anything but. He sees a direct lineage from the COVID-19 pandemic, where a “whole ecosystem of disinformation and misinformation arose,” now simply shifting its focus to hantavirus. Because of his medical background and significant social media reach, Stone feels compelled and uniquely equipped to challenge these falsehoods. Dr. Mark Shrime, a physician with a public health and health policy background, echoes the sentiment, acknowledging the “very common, and very understandable” medical anxiety spurred by what feels like the start of another pandemic, especially given the trauma left by the last one. Stone believes this collective trauma, a form of “PTSD” from COVID-19, makes people more susceptible to spreading and believing false information. However, he also points to more sinister motives behind some of the misinformation—political, ideological, financial, or simply a craving for attention. Dr. Deborah Cohen, author of Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health, reinforces this, stating that the “explosion of hantavirus misinformation” is merely a “continuation of patterns we saw during the pandemic,” including baseless vaccine claims, hoaxes, and unproven “cures.” The financial incentives on platforms like X, which began paying creators for engagement in 2023, only exacerbate the problem, as a 2024 BBC investigation revealed, with accounts making money from AI-generated images and misinformation during the U.S. election. Both X and Meta-owned Threads, despite their “community notes” features designed to crowdsource corrections, are hotbeds for this kind of content.
The escalating concern around online medical misinformation led to a significant call to action in 2025. The British Medical Journal published an appeal from experts demanding “coordinated action by governments and platforms to protect the public” from harmful advice peddled by social media influencers lacking expertise and potentially driven by hidden agendas. Dr. Adams starkly articulates the challenge: “Social media moves faster than any virus, and once a false narrative takes hold it’s very hard to dislodge.” His personal mission is to deliver clear, evidence-based information, distinguishing what is known from what is still uncertain, without exaggeration in either direction. Dr. Shrime concurs, noting the “rampant” misinformation that flooded social media within just 48 hours of the cruise ship story breaking, with easily disprovable theories spreading like wildfire. He also highlights the troubling trend of divisive politics intersecting with health information, where “us against them” narratives only “worsen the entire population’s health.” In the wake of COVID-19, with a pervasive climate of distrust, especially concerning health and vaccinations, Adams emphasizes that “transparency is especially important.” He describes navigating a “highly polarized space” where experts are either accused of not doing enough or hiding the truth, or any discussion of risk is immediately labeled as fear-mongering alarmism.
This erosion of public trust is painfully evident in the reactions experts receive online. When Dr. Adams posted on X in May, reassuring U.S. travelers about the low risk of hantavirus, citing the CDC and WHO, the responses were a mixed bag. While some expressed gratitude for clarity, others dismissed his advice as “horrible,” “naive,” and “irresponsible,” or outright stated they wouldn’t listen to him regarding viruses, reflecting a deep-seated skepticism. Adams describes this as “exactly what you’d expect in today’s climate,” acknowledging that while some find his information helpful, others become defensive, accusing him of having a hidden agenda or suppressing the “real story.” He warns that “both extremes erode public trust,” emphasizing that the only viable approach is to “stay grounded in the data, acknowledge the uncertainties openly, and correct the record in real time, even when it’s uncomfortable or when the correction gets pushback.” Each time medical professionals publicly correct misinformation, he believes, they “reduce the oxygen available to the false narrative.”
However, rebuilding trust is an uphill battle, largely due to the pervasive misinformation during and after the pandemic. Dr. Shrime laments that trust in “experts who could protect us against the next pandemic” has been profoundly undermined. Dr. Cohen agrees, pointing out that “public trust in institutions took a huge hit during COVID,” partly due to “genuine communication failures” and information being presented with a false sense of certainty. She stresses that “once trust is lost, it’s incredibly difficult to rebuild,” creating a vacuum that conspiracy theories eagerly fill. Traditional media also bears some responsibility, Cohen argues, as constant crisis framing can make the public perceive a greater threat than actually exists. “When audiences are exposed to relentless crisis framing, it creates fertile ground for people claiming there is a hidden agenda, cover-up, or manipulation behind every outbreak,” she explains. In this complex environment, “calm, proportionate and transparent communication is therefore more important than ever,” serving not only as a shield against the virus but against the equally dangerous spread of fear and doubt.