Health Information and Trust
The monitor
Five technology companies have launched dedicated consumer-facing AI health tools so far in 2026, reflecting the demand for what some users see as a convenient source of health information, even as questions about AI’s reliability remain unresolved.
And, a decades-old World Health Organization classification has been misrepresented online to suggest that hormonal birth control pills were recently found to cause cancer, illustrating how false and misleading health claims can spread even in the absence of outright falsehoods.
Abortion Pill’s Safety Called into Question in Congressional Actions Based on Misleading Data
False claims about the safety of mifepristone are driving legislative and investigative action in Congress, even as major medical organizations and decades of clinical evidence support the drug’s safety. And competing interpretations of what censorship and free speech mean are impacting how health misinformation is moderated.
Polling
1 in 3 Adults Are Turning to AI Chatbots for Health Information; 1 in 5 Cite Affordability and Access Concerns as Major Reasons
About a third of adults nationally say they have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in the past year for health information. Most who turned to AI for health information say they were in search of quick and immediate advice, though challenges affording and accessing health care also play a role, particularly for younger adults.
Dashboard: Polling on Health Information and Trust
Drawing on KFF’s poll findings, this interactive dashboard tracks the public’s trusted sources for health information, attitudes toward vaccines, and use of news, social media, and AI for health-related information.
Trust in the CDC and Views of Federal Childhood Vaccine Schedule Changes
Weeks after the Trump administration reduced the number of childhood vaccine recommended for routine use, public trust in the CDC is at its lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic, and less than half are confident in federal agencies’ ability to make such recommendations. Read the News Release.
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