Daniel Catalán presents MediaLab findings at the Ministry of Health: 40% are vulnerable to health disinformation
- DANIEL JESUS CATALAN MATAMOROS
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
MADRID – During the international conference "How to stop the health disinformation epidemic," held on February 6, 2026, at the Ministry of Health, Daniel Catalán, full professor and researcher at the UC3M MediaLab, presented alarming new data on the impact of disinformation and conspiracy theories on the Spanish population. The event, a landmark collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the National Association of Health Informers (ANIS), aimed to lay the groundwork for a structural, coordinated national strategy against health disinformation.
New Evidence from the HEALTHCOMM Project
Professor Catalán revealed findings from the ongoing research project "HEALTHCOMM: Pseudoscience, Conspiracy Theories, Fake News, and Media Literacy in Health Communication," which is funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through its State Research Agency.
The study highlights a significant gap between perceived and actual media literacy: while 72% of Spaniards believe they possess the skills to detect health disinformation, only 12% actually utilize verification tools, with the vast majority relying on mere "intuition". This overconfidence leaves 40% of the population vulnerable to health-related disinformation.
The Four Dangerous Narratives
Drawing from the HEALTHCOMM research, Catalán identified four meta-narratives that dominate the current disinformation ecosystem:
• Conspiracy: The belief that elites (WHO, Ministry, Big Pharma) are hiding the truth to manipulate the public. Currently, 20% of Spaniards believe the COVID-19 pandemic was intentionally created by elites.
• Institutional distrust: Exploiting minor communication errors or scientific criteria changes to claim that authorities "always lie".
• Naturalist: Portraying Western medicine as "toxic" while promoting unverified kitchen remedies as safer and more effective.
• Stigmatizing: The most damaging narrative, which uses hate speech to criminalize vulnerable groups or patients with specific diseases.
The rise of AI in health queries
The researcher also presented data regarding emerging technologies. According to the UC3M study, 7.4% of the Spanish population now consults Generative AI (such as ChatGPT) for health concerns—a figure that doubles to 15% among young adults aged 18 to 24. Catalán warned that AI can act as a "disinformation factory," producing content that mimics scientific appearance without any actual evidence or professional backing.
A Call for National Action
The collaboration between the Ministry of Health and ANIS underscores the institutional recognition of disinformation as a "global public health emergency". In her opening remarks, Health Minister Mónica García emphasized that "informing does not mean putting scientific evidence and hoaxes on the same level" and described scientific denialism as an "anti-democratic practice".
The conclusions presented by Daniel Catalán and the HEALTHCOMM project serve as a vital evidence base for the proposed National Strategy against Health Disinformation, which advocates for reinforced media literacy, professionalized health communication, and a rapid response mechanism to protect citizens from harmful narratives.
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