Graduate Workshop-Third Fall Session
When and Where
Description
HAPSAT GRADUATE WORKSHOPS
Alexandra Calzavara
“Why is the Ray Peat community so far right?”: A case study on the boundaries of expertise and misinformation in online health communities
In-person event- Wednesday December 4 - Noon to 1:30 p.m.
The widespread proliferation of health-related misinformation online represents a critical and escalating challenge, prompting global health initiatives to enhance science literacy, implement fact-checking, utilize AI for misinformation detection, and leverage the authority of health experts on social media. Moreover, online health communities (OHCs) have become influential spaces where misinformation thrives and where health advice is often merged with controversial ideologies such as anti-vaccination stances and skepticism towards scientific institutions. I present a case study of the pro-metabolic community (PMC), an OHC of 'lay-experts' in alternative health, to argue that conventional methods for addressing health misinformation may fall short. I posit that the PMC, by adopting the practices of formal scientific institutions to legitimize their own expertise and disseminate countercultural health ideologies, exemplifies a novel form of political resistance in the online health landscape. These dynamics may contribute to a growing misalignment between traditional public health strategies and the decentralized, community-driven movements shaping the future of healthcare in the digital age.
Graduate Student Workshop Organizer: Silvia Castillo Vergara
