US influencers spread false information about birth control: report
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Washington: US wellness influencers are overemphasizing the side effects of birth control pills, pushing their followers on social media to abandon the contraceptives thus exposing them to unintended pregnancies, reports news agency AFP.
False claims about infertility and low libido are peddled in the name of expert opinions on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
These influencers who are not licensed medical specialists run what can be called ‘cottage industry of self-proclaimed health gurus’.
They monetize misinformation alongside promoting ‘healing’ oils and ‘fetility-tracking services’, while overemphasizing the side effects of birth control pills, which confuse people who are seeking reliable information.
Popular TikTok influencer in the US Taylor Gossett reportedly called birth control pills ‘ toxic’ and offers ‘ master class’ in ‘natural’ control.
Conservative commentator Candace Owens openly declared on Tik Tok that birth control will cause infertility problems.
Another influencer Naftali Moses wants his followers to change their ‘ sexual behavior’ to do away with the pills.
Podcaster Sahara Rose made a strange claim that birth control pills impact who people are ‘attracted to’ thus causing somebody to choose a wrong mate, hence Rose terms them ‘divorce pill’.
While some women claim the pills impacting their sex drive, medical experts dismiss widespread causal links and they say there is no ‘direct casual evidence’ to link birth control pills causing widespread infertility.
Michael A. Belmonte, a fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reportedly said that misinformation could lead women becoming pregnant and they have no access to abortion.
This is a difficult situation for women in a country where abortion is banned or restricted in nearly half the states, according to the report.
