Deb Cohen
@debscohen.bsky.social
Broadcaster and writer | Senior visiting fellow, LSE | Escapee medic | Former health correspondent, BBC Newsnight | Science editor, ITV News | Investigations editor, BMJ | Scouse https://www.specialistspeakers.com/?p=16769
🌩️ NEW EPISODE 🌩️ 🎙️Bad Science: Faux facts, health fads and influencers ❓How does the media turn science into clickbait? 👂Hear from the leading expert on the wellness industrial complex, @debscohen.bsky.social ⬇️ LISTEN
Bad Science: Faux facts, health fads and influencers
Media Storm · Episode
open.spotify.com
Totally chuffed "Bad Influence" has been shortlisted for @royalsociety.org Trivedi Science Book prize. Chair of judges Mike Benton said: “This book is both urgent and contemporary, providing much-needed insight into a currently unregulated area of health.” Congrats to everyone shortlisted
Day 1 of the 5 Nations Health Protection Conference ends with a really thought provoking and interesting keynote talk by the amazing investigative journalist and author Dr Deborah Cohen on social media, AI and the commodification of health. @debscohen.bsky.social @5-nations.bsky.social 1/
Looks like "Bad Influence" has made it onto the parliamentary reading list.... Chuffed to it cited during a Health and Social Care Sekect Committee discussion on direct-to-consumer advertising of GLP-1 drugs, influencer marketing and regulation. Loads more to say on this!
Thanks to @jessasatomp.bsky.social & @joshfg.bsky.social for hosting such an important Parliamentary roundtable on health misinformation and @debscohen.bsky.social's book "Bad Influence". I was delighted to attend, it was the perfect way to wrap up @wcrf.org's #CancerPreventionActionWeek for 2026!
Excellent BMJ investigation by Deborah Cohen on how social media is importing US-style prescription drug marketing into the UK and Europe. Delighted to contribute a few thoughts. Worth a read. 👇
Deb Cohen@debscohen.bsky.social · 2mo agoPrescription drug ads to consumers are banned in UK & EU. But those rules were written for TV, & newspapers - not Insta, TikTok & YouTube. Social media has enabled importation of US style ads - as we've see with the GLP1s. And don't know the cost. Me for @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/393/...
Prescription drug ads to consumers are banned in UK & EU. But those rules were written for TV, & newspapers - not Insta, TikTok & YouTube. Social media has enabled importation of US style ads - as we've see with the GLP1s. And don't know the cost. Me for @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/393/...
Chuffed "Bad Influence" is one of the @financialtimes.com best summer books. Who'd have thought evidence and critical thinking were beach reads?!
Delight that my and @mgtmccartney.bsky.social @bmj.com investigation into Our Future Health is a finalist in @absw.bsky.social awards. Thanks to @rebeccacoombes.bsky.social and team for the encouragement and edit. And a big congrats to the other finalists.
Oh I'd missed this first time Thanks Deb for pointing it out Egregious graph crimes!!
Peter Tennant@pwgtennant.bsky.social · 3mo agoYou may have seen this graph in the FT, which claims to show birth rates plunging since the introduction to smartphone. Except it doesn't. Read my short piece with @debscohen.bsky.social on some of the problems with this graph of juicy cherries! unherd.com/newsroom/are...
Influencers versus evidence based medicine...my interview with the @economist.com and @alokjha.bsky.social is out on their Babbage podcast now www.economist.com/podcasts/202...
Influencers vs evidence-based medicine (part one)
Our podcast on science and technology. In the first of two episodes on health misinformation, Deborah Cohen, doctor and author, tells us how the internet is hijacking health care
economist.com
You get two science authors for the price of one when @debscohen.bsky.social and I speak next week at LSE ⬇️ (In fact it's free!) My book: how a quiet revolution in evidence has reshaped the way we make decisions Deb's book: the forces working against evidence now Sign up! 2 June bit.ly/41LH2CG
LSE Health Policy@lsehealthpolicy.bsky.social · 2mo agoJust under a week to go. #LSEHealth hosts @helenpearson.bsky.social & @debscohen.bsky.social on 2 June — a conversation on evidence, medicine and what comes next, with audience Q&A, drinks and a book signing. 🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
LSE Health hosts @helenpearson.bsky.social & @debscohen.bsky.social on 2 June for a discussion on evidence, medicine and policy — followed by audience Q&A, drinks reception and book signing. 📍 Wolfson Theatre, LSE | 6.30pm 🎟️ 🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
People on all sides of the political spectrum need and deserve access to high-quality scientific evidence. I therefore believe in a pluralistic approach to science communication activity, regardless of my own politics.
Excellent example of why expertise matters. When you find experts who make good arguments that help you better understand your world: follow them, support them, and promote them. @pwgtennant.bsky.social @debscohen.bsky.social
Peter Tennant@pwgtennant.bsky.social · 3mo agoYou may have seen this graph in the FT, which claims to show birth rates plunging since the introduction to smartphone. Except it doesn't. Read my short piece with @debscohen.bsky.social on some of the problems with this graph of juicy cherries! unherd.com/newsroom/are...
Chuffed to be speaking at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition alongside @kevinfong.bsky.social
You may have seen this graph in the FT, which claims to show birth rates plunging since the introduction to smartphone. Except it doesn't. Read my short piece with @debscohen.bsky.social on some of the problems with this graph of juicy cherries! unherd.com/newsroom/are...
At a time when trust in institutions is under strain, the question of how we know what works in health has rarely mattered more. #LSEHealth hosts @helenpearson.bsky.social & @debscohen.bsky.social on 2 June. 🎟️ 🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
How do we translate evidence into practice — and what happens when it collides with political reality? @helenpearson.bsky.social & @debscohen.bsky.social discuss at #LSEHealth on 2 June. Audience Q&A and book signing to follow. 🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
NEW: #LSEHealth welcomes @helenpearson.bsky.social, author of Beyond Belief, in conversation with @debscohen.bsky.social on how medicine embraced evidence-based thinking — and what the future holds. 📍 LSE | 2 June | 6.30pm 🎟️ 🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
Chuffed to be speaking at this Royal Society of Med event w Marion Nestle & Naomi Oreskes who brilliantly exposed food & tobacco playbooks I’ll be exploring the influencer playbook-- inc rise of medfluencers who have drifted from sensible advice into being the purveyors of nutritional snake oil.
Influencers deploy complex scientific language about circadian rhythms or dopamine regulation to sell 21st-century snake oil" My latest for @lbc.co.uk www.lbc.co.uk/article/soci...
lbc.co.uk
In a special recording at this month's Nuffield Trust Summit, the @bmj.com podcast explored the challenge of tackling health misinformation. Joining @kamranabbasi.bsky.social on the expert panel: @debscohen.bsky.social, Kamila Hawthorne, and Nnenna Osuji. Listen here: buff.ly/H9QCuWb
Thank you @cwjoneschris.bsky.social for my Mother’s Day gift, can’t wait to read @debscohen.bsky.social
In a world of short attention spans, strong views and increasingly varied sources of information, should we be concerned about how we care for the nation’s health? Our #ntsummit panel will dive headfirst into the debate. Register to watch on Thursday: buff.ly/RSiCok6
For what promises to be a fascinating discussion about polarisation, health policy and science, we’ll hear from @debscohen.bsky.social, Samira Ben Omar and Mark Henderson. Chaired by our Director of Communications and External Affairs, @leonoramerry.bsky.social. #ntsummit buff.ly/RSiCok6
This recent RCT of an "AI stethoscope" claims the technology "shows promise" for diagnosing cardiovascular conditions. It does not. It is a textbook example of the risks of conducting unprincipled 'per protocol analyses'. Once again, peer review at a major medical journal has failed. 🧵 1/
The Lancet@thelancet.com · 5mo agoAI-enabled stethoscopes show promise for improving diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions, UK trial finds. Explore the research: spkl.io/63326AsjJ8
Before made FDA head, Marty Makary told me of “fierce lobbying effort” behind “early cancer detection”. “But is there net public health benefit or harm?” At time, he'd seen “no substantial evidence” Galleri improved this. Will the NHS trial change that? www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Galleri cancer tests: Controversial NHS trial fails to meet key goal
A controversial blood test that promises to detect multiple cancers in their early stages failed to meet a key trial endpoint of a significant reduction in stage III-IV cases. Investors in the US com...
bmj.com
Before made FDA head, Marty Makary told me of “fierce lobbying effort” behind “early cancer detection”. “But is there net public health benefit or harm?” At the time, he'd seen “no substantial evidence” Galleri improved public health. Will NHS trial change that? www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Galleri cancer tests: Controversial NHS trial fails to meet key goal
A controversial blood test that promises to detect multiple cancers in their early stages failed to meet a key trial endpoint of a significant reduction in stage III-IV cases. Investors in the US com...
bmj.com