Will Healthcare Content Writing Be Seen As Disinformation?

Elijah Shoesmith

For millennia, writing has been used properly and improperly.

Don’t worry, this won’t be a history lesson. Rather, it’ll focus on breaking news.

There. Feel better?

Having assuaged your preemptive yawns, I ask you now to keep an open mind.

Because my niche of healthcare content writing is being threatened.

Disinformation in the News

Can I make a bold statement? I love the truth.

For one thing, without it the following will suffer:

Relationships
Business
Society as a whole

Don’t believe me? Try to develop a thriving marriage by being untruthful. Let me know how it goes!

Moving on.

I bring this up because the term disinformation basically equals propaganda. And at the root of propaganda is lies, the polar opposite of truth.

Wait a tic, what does this have to do with healthcare content writing sir? I promise to answer this question, but will preface it with the breaking news I hinted at.

Regulating Freedom of Speech

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made a puzzling announcement.

It involved the formation of a “Disinformation Governance Board” to be headed by an outspoken critic of free speech Nina Jancowicz. Perhaps they had slim pickings when they posted the job?

Per him they’ll have no direct authority to restrain what they deem “disinformation.” But before you celebrate, there’s one key sentence he followed it up with.

Instead, they’ll funnel funds to various causes they deem as victims of disinformation. So basically back channels will be used to indirectly crack down. Got it.

There’s only one problem with this newly formed board. Since we’re not an autocracy, its existence infringes upon the Constitution. You know, that thing which holds the fabric of our nation together.

That one.

Taking It International

And right on its heels, the United States and 60 other countries signed on for supporting a global crackdown.

The “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” aims to combat both disinformation and misinformation. The timing is probably just a coincidence I’m sure.

Possible no-type zones:

Safety of Covid vaccines
Alternative treatments for Covid
Holistic medicine

Now I can answer your earlier question as the foundation has been laid.

Why Disinformation Is Kept a Vague Term

My livelihood depends on a certain level of freedom in the words I type.

One that can’t be dictated by biased competitors to those I serve. But who’s competing with holistic practitioners?

Only the allopathic establishment. No biggie.

Possible incentives for these entities:

Increased market share
Positive PR
Greater profits
Government backing
Less competition

The only problem is they could further stagnate an already rickety U.S. healthcare system. A lack of innovation and advances in healthcare would surely follow.

Other Issues

Another quandary that needs addressing is in the area of social media.

Twitter is facing sweeping changes with a new owner. Facebook, Google, and others have been mislabeling evidence-based medical studies as inaccurate.

Free speech platforms have been under constant pressure to adopt mainstream policies. Allow me to camp out here for a minute.

I’m an advocate for Gab. This marketing channel is a big part of the reason I’ve found some early success to build off of with my business.

Two other reasons:

God
My wife, family, and friends

Holistic practitioners are active on it because they’ve been excluded from traditional medicine and are free to help heal patients. Patient choice is important so I support them in reaching these patients through my keyboard.

Who’s to say Big Tech, supported by funds from the “Disinformation Governance Board,” doesn’t step up their attacks against Gab and others?

Diversity of opinions is good for our culture

If any doctor is purposefully placing patients in danger through false information and they’re aware of the falsehood, there should be consequences for their actions.

But outside of those situations, slapping a “disinformation” label on something you don’t agree with transforms a culture. And not in a good way mind you.

Especially prevalent on college campuses but also the internet, an inability to openly debate the mainstream narrative has snuffed creativity and critical thinking.

This may seem like a bold statement but it’s something I experienced firsthand on my college campus.

Solutions to Disinformation

Hopefully now you understand the future predicament both medical content writers and those they serve could face.

You don’t have to agree with everything I said to realize it either.

So, I’d like to suggest a solution to avoid incorrect labeling of helpful medical advice:

Conduct a conference with both traditional and holistic practitioners
Let them debate and come up with mutually agreed upon medical treatments
Share the information with the general public through selected representatives
Work with all social media platforms to establish best practices on dealing with actual disinformation and misinformation

This level of transparency is paramount for both sides to feel their voice was heard. Kind of like our nation’s founders did in signing our guiding documents.

I’m a very positive person who is thankful for many blessings in my life. And I’m generally optimistic.

But I don’t plan on holding my breath for this suggested solution to reach the desk of Biden. Don’t take that as accepting defeat though. Because the pen is still mightier than the sword.

Elijah Wordsmith Up Against Disinformation

You may ask why I am taking a stand, even at the risk of it affecting my business.

By the grace of God, I survived Leukemia as a child. My mother had free access to alternative medical information which ultimately helped my body as poison (chemo) attacked the cancer cells.

But if those in power succeed in making this information inaccessible, where will that leave future parents seeking help for their child?

That’s my “why.”

Perhaps this blog resonated with you as you’re the holistic practitioner I was describing. Or you know someone who fits that bill.

Elijah Wordsmith content writing can open the door for your practice to stand out! If interested, schedule a discovery call as I’d love to learn more.