In the words of one prof of evidence synthesis: "This is going to be great - exposing the snake oil pushers of the modern age. With modern technology and a global market at their fingertips, they have never been more dangerous to our health."

You can tell I'm not in sales and marketing...my mate just DM'd me "where's the preorder link you, nobhead?"

So here is it: amzn.eu/d/hRYd9fI

Summat tells me you might not be....

New book klaxon: I finally piss EVERYONE off!

What happens when you put health on platforms geared for shopping, PR & entertainment?

What's medicine and what's marketing? And what impact is it having on health?

(In public health lingo -it's commercial meets digital determinants of health)

Chris Whitty bringing a huge amount of scepticism and sense to 'misinformation' debate. He's not focusing on individuals but the behaviour of the likes tobacco, fossil fuel and drug companies @lshtm.bsky.social

This is excellent and highly worth reading as many of the points highlighted are relevant to other similarly well intentioned appearing schemes. I almost signed up but was put off by exactly these concerns, however the article raises many I hadn’t thought of.
@mgtmccartney.bsky.social

I'd love to hear more!

Interesting debate around 'Our Future Health' Read more 👇
"scale & ambition praiseworthy, esp for enrolling people from ethnic minority & low income backgrounds" BUT consent, transparency & commercial interest concerns
@kathcheckland.bsky.social @publichealthuom.bsky.social @ewenspeed.bsky.social

Good to see @mgtmccartney.bsky.social & @debscohen.bsky.social back out on tour

The UK’s flagship health research programme promises breakthroughs, but beneath an NHS branded facade, critics are asking who really benefits from this vast database, heavily backed by industry and government.

@mgtmccartney.bsky.social and I investigate

www.bmj.com/content/390/...

Women are disproportionally targeted with medical misinformation, and put at unique risk by it. Tonight @debscohen.bsky.social and myself will discuss some of the reasons why and how to counter it. Still tickets available if you'd like to join us online..

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/countering...

Anyone know where Anfield is?!

Self promo klaxon....Delighted to be signed up to the Specialist Speakers Bureau...want to know more about communicating complexity, controversy and evidence. Hit me up!

specialistspeakers.com/?p=16769

Podcasters, YouTubers, influencers…these are not journalists. Some can be! But they’re in the tiny minority. We’ve sleepwalked into, well some have welcomed it, a far shittier world of spon con, financial conflicts and uncritical fluffing. The tragedy is ppl don’t even realise what they’ve lost.

My and @mgtmccartney.bsky.social critical look at Zoe for both Unherd and The BMJ has sure had legs....

Great to see our work being cited in today's Economist

economist.com/britain/2025...

Slowly making it over....!

Couldn't agree more. I tried to consistently report the benefits, harms & uncertainties of the various interventions & was consistently lumped in with the sundry opportunists. If reporting on anything around the Tavistock was tough this was another level...everyone was affected and had a view

Great talking to academics at LSE about how researchers can work with journalists to hold health systems, companies, policy makers etc to account. Research + investigative journalism can drive change in policy & practice. But how you do it in a rapidly changing media landscape?

That sounds fascinating. I'd love to talk to you about it. Perhaps we can set up a call. Can you DM me?

Gender dysphoria and the background to a puberty blocker drug trial for children. And what is equipoise anyway ??

Detailed and v helpful explainer by @debscohen.bsky.social

from me and @debscohen.bsky.social on early diagnosis
unherd.com/2025/01/the-...

Had a few DMs from people sharing experiences of false positives with unnecessary & anxiety inducing clinical cascade. Asymptomatic people having ECGs leading to A&E attendances; nervous weeks off work to explore incidentalomas. But we tend to hear the stories about how this test saved my life

Thanks, Anna. We had similar anecdotes in. I don't think the story around false positive is told enough...we always hear about how this test saved me life