FDA Launches ‘Rumor Control’ Campaign

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a “Rumor Control” webpage on “the growing spread of rumors, misinformation, and disinformation about science, medicine, and the FDA.”

The webpage, which invites consumers to “[l]earn and share FDA facts to help stop the spread of misinformation,” debuted on June 3, 2023, nearly a year after FDA Commissioner Robert Califf stated controlling misinformation would be a top priority at the agency. The site features a video that states “some individuals and organizations promote opinions online disguised as fact” and that “misinformation can spread 6x faster than facts.”

Rather than providing information, the webpage disputes matters of opinion, says Linda Gorman, director of the Independence Institute’s Health Care Policy Center.

“What is bizarre about this is that the FDA chose to title it ‘Rumor Control,’ not a fact check or getting the facts,” said Gorman. “People have opinions, some are fact based, some are not. The FDA should engage in giving its view on claims that it feels are false, but the choice of “Rumor Control” as a title is tone deaf.”

Such marketing can give insight into the mindset of government regulators, says Gorman.

“The FDA, like many of the state and federal health bureaucracies, has a history suggesting that those who staff it are not happy with the level of free speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,” said Gorman. “People asking inconvenient questions about how bureaucrats go about their jobs means they have to explain themselves. This is often difficult, boring, and time-consuming. It makes it harder for an agency to achieve its aims, aims which may or may not be in the best interest of the people who fund it.”

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