Who are the right sources of health information, and how to spot fake health news

Health information is anything that tells you how to stay healthy, how an illness works, or how to use a health service or product. Common examples:

• the leaflet inside a medicine box and the label on a food supplement
• your child's vaccine schedule in the baby book from the health center
• lab results and the notes your doctor or nurse writes for you
• PhilHealth announcements about benefits, such as what YAKAP covers
• posts, videos and ads about health on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube
• health news on TV, radio and news sites, and messages forwarded in group chats

Some of it is accurate and up to date. Some is old, one-sided or false, so check it before you believe, share or act on it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls the flood of information, true and false, during an outbreak an infodemic. It confuses people, leads to risky choices and erodes trust in health authorities.

In a 2018 to 2019 national survey of 2,303 Filipinos aged 15 to 70, about half (51.5%) had limited health literacy: they found it hard to find, understand, judge or use health information.

False health stories can hurt in real ways. After the 2017 Dengvaxia scare, Philippine health policymakers interviewed in 2020 described how distorted stories about vaccines spread fast on social media. They struggled to give clear, accurate messages and to keep people from avoiding health care.

Fake health products harm people too. Besides wasting money, they can make you delay or stop a treatment that works: a fake "cure" for diabetes may lead someone to stop the diabetes medicines their doctor prescribed.

The WHO advises finding out which sources give the latest official, evidence-based health facts: your country's health ministry, the WHO and your local health clinic. Here are 10 examples of reliable sources of health information for Filipinos:

1. Department of Health (DOH): health programmes, outbreaks and advisories.
2. PhilHealth: your benefits, such as YAKAP. Its only official website is philhealth.gov.ph.
3. FDA Philippines: which medicines, supplements, cosmetics and devices are registered, and warnings about unsafe products.
4. Your barangay health station, rural health unit (RHU) or city health office.
5. Your own doctor, nurse, midwife or pharmacist, who can tell you whether information fits you.
6. Your PhilHealth YAKAP clinic.
7. Philippine medical societies, such as the Philippine Pediatric Society.
8. The World Health Organization (WHO), including WHO Philippines.
9. Hospitals and medical schools, and their patient information pages.
10. Medical libraries and journals, such as MedlinePlus and PubMed from the US National Library of Medicine.

Look at the web address. Official Philippine government websites end in .gov.ph. Sites ending in .org or .com can also be good, but check them more closely.

Use these steps for any website, video, post or message:

1. Pause before you believe or share it. The WHO suggests asking yourself: how do I feel about this? Who wrote it, and where do the claims come from?
2. Find out who is behind it. Look for an "About us" page and contact details. If you can't tell who runs a site, don't trust its health advice.
3. Ask why it exists. To inform you, to sell something, or to push one person's opinion? Watch out for ads made to look like health news.
4. Check where the facts come from. Good pages link to their sources, such as studies or official guidelines.
5. Check who reviewed it. Trusted pages are written or reviewed by people with health training, and say so.
6. Look at the date. Health advice changes, so good pages show when they were last updated.
7. Compare with other reliable sources. If the DOH, the WHO or your health center say something different, go with what they say.
8. Protect your personal details. Read the privacy policy before sharing anything about yourself.
9. Talk to a health worker before you act on it, especially before you stop or change a medicine.

For news about a study, also ask: was it done in people or animals, how many people, and who paid for it?

Social media can be useful when posts come from trusted groups, and it helps people with the same illness support each other. But keep in mind:

• A post from someone you know is not proof. Ask the same questions: where does it come from, why was it made, and who pays for it?
• Follow the official accounts of trusted groups, which link back to their websites. PhilHealth's official Facebook pages are PhilHealthOfficial and PhilHealthYAKAP.
• Everyone's body is different. What helped a friend or relative may not suit you. Take treatment and medicine advice only from your own doctor or a health worker who knows your health history.
• Never post your personal details, such as your full name, address, birthday or PhilHealth Identification Number (PIN). PhilHealth says it does not collect personal information through its social media pages.
• If you're not sure a post is true, don't share it. Point family and friends to trusted sources instead.
• Don't click links in messages unless you know and trust the sender.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be suspicious of posts, ads and sellers that:

• promise to cure many unrelated illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes and arthritis with one product
• use testimonials ("Effective daw!") or "real doctors" who may be paid actors
• promise a quick cure for a serious illness
• use words like miracle cure, new discovery, exclusive or ancient remedy
• say "doctors and drug companies don't want you to know this"
• use science-sounding words that don't make sense, or claim a famous prize
• offer a money-back guarantee, no questions asked
• use alarming or urgent headlines to pressure you into acting or giving your details

Scam products may be made in unclean places, contain ingredients not on the label, or react with medicines you already take.

The FDA Philippines regularly posts public health warnings against unregistered or mislabelled products. In late October 2026 alone, these included a digital thermometer, an upper-arm blood pressure monitor, a fingertip pulse oximeter, a baby bottle and a sunscreen cream. The FDA also lifts a warning once a product gets registered, so always look at the latest advisory.

Before you buy or use a health product:

• Check it with the FDA. The FDA has an online Reporting and Verification portal (opens in a new tab) where you can look up products and report problems. You can also check the advisories on the FDA Philippines website (opens in a new tab).
• Be wary of "natural" claims. Natural does not always mean safe: some plants, such as poisonous mushrooms, can kill. Any product strong enough to work like a medicine can also cause side effects.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you take prescription medicines.

If you use a home blood pressure monitor, see our guide to checking blood pressure at home.

Scammers copy PhilHealth to steal personal and bank details. As of mid-2026, PhilHealth has warned about fake websites and a text blast asking members to "update" their information through a link. Remember:

• The only official PhilHealth website is philhealth.gov.ph. In 2025 PhilHealth also pointed out that a look-alike address, philhealth.e.gov.ph, is not its website. Check the spelling closely: fake sites may use a "1" in place of an "l".
• PhilHealth does not send text messages with links asking you to update your personal or account details. Be extra careful with links from unknown 11-digit mobile numbers.
• PhilHealth does not ask for payments, bank transfers or donations through unofficial websites, or for your login details outside its Member Portal.
• Don't click, don't reply, don't give details. Report the website or message to PhilHealth through its official Facebook page (PhilHealthOfficial), by email to actioncenter@philhealth.gov.ph, or at your nearest PhilHealth office.

For accurate YAKAP news, use philhealth.gov.ph or the PhilHealthYAKAP Facebook page. You can also read our PhilHealth YAKAP guide and our guide to what PhilHealth covers.

Advice from parents, lolos and lolas, neighbours and the local manghihilot comes from care and long experience, and it deserves respect. But stories of one person getting better are the weakest kind of proof: they are hard to check, are often passed on from person to person or even made up, and the person may have improved for another reason, such as medicines they were also taking.

Being "used for generations" does not prove a remedy is safe. Some herbs used in the past were later found to carry risks.

What you can do:

• Tell your health worker about every remedy, herbal tea or supplement you use, so they can spot problems with your medicines.
• Don't stop a prescribed medicine to try a remedy without asking your doctor.
• Check big promises ("pang-cancer," "gamot sa lahat ng sakit") with the steps above.

For questions about your own health:

• Visit your barangay health station, RHU or city health center. Find health centers near you.
• Ask at your PhilHealth YAKAP clinic during your check-up.
• Ask a pharmacist about a medicine, supplement or product label.
• Ask our AI care navigator to help you find services or prepare questions for your visit. It is a guide, not a doctor: check important answers with a health worker.
• Book a call with a nurse if you want to talk it through with a person.

Bring the post, link or product with you. A health worker can tell you whether it is true and whether it fits you.