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Health Misinformation: 9 Series That Reveal the Dangers of Fake News

30.4.2025
Desinformación en salud: 9 series que debes ver para entender los riesgos de las fake news

Discover 9 series that show how misinformation can put our physical and emotional health at risk. Understand the dangers of fake news!

 

 

[This post was co-written by Raül Toran, Outreach Manager at ISGlobal, and Minerva López, Outreach intern at ISGlobal.]

 

ISGlobal coordinates the GOLIAT project on 5G exposure and health. As part of the project, we are conducting Escolab workshops aimed at students to detect misinformation in science and health. We've selected 9 series that explore the topic of fake news and health misinformation.

 

Apple Cider Vinegar

This drama series tells the story of Belle Gibson, a wellness and “health” influencer who falsely claimed to have cured terminal brain cancer through natural remedies, deceiving a large community. The show addresses misinformation and health-related frauds, highlighting the dangers of false information in the medical field.

  • Image: IMDB
  • Trailer: YouTube
  • Director: Jeffrey Walker
  • Genre: Drama
  • Year: 2025
  • Seasons and episodes: 1 season with 6 episodes
  • Episode duration: 60 minutes
  • Where to watch: Netflix

 

The Dropout

It tells the real story of Elizabeth Holmes and the company she founded, Theranos, a medical fraud based on false promises about a technology that used just a small blood sample for diagnostics.

  • Image: Filmaffinity
  • Trailer: YouTube
  • Director: Elizabeth Meriwether
  • Genre: Drama, based on real events
  • Year: 2022
  • Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 8 episodes
  • Duration: 50 minutes
  • Where to watch: Disney+

 

Dopesick

Through the stories of families affected by opioid addiction, this series shows how the crisis in the United States was fueled by misinformation and deceptive pharmaceutical marketing that downplayed the real risk of addiction to these drugs.

  • Image: Filmaffinity
  • Trailer: YouTube
  • Director: Danny Strong
  • Genre: Drama. Based on real events about pain medications and drug addiction
  • Year: 2021
  • Seasons and episodes: 1 season, 8 episodes
  • Duration: 62 minutes
  • Where to watch: Prime Video, Disney+

 

Painkiller

This series complements Dopesick by showing how misinformation about opioid addiction led to devastating consequences.

 

Dr. Death

This Peacock series, based on true events, tells the story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a charismatic neurosurgeon who seriously harmed his patients. The series highlights the dangers of medical negligence and misinformation in healthcare.

 

The Newsroom

This HBO/MAX series portrays the daily struggles of journalists to verify accurate information in an era dominated by misinformation. The plot focuses on behind-the-scenes events at a fictional cable news channel where the anchor and his team aim to create a truthful news program, facing corporate interests.

 

The Girl from Plainville

This series dramatizes the case of Michelle Carter, a Massachusetts teenager convicted of involuntary manslaughter after encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide via text messages. The series explores themes of manipulation, mental health, toxic relationships, and the consequences of misinformation in personal relationships.

 

Years and Years

A dystopia that follows the life of a British family during fifteen years of major political and economic changes in the UK. It shows how information and media manipulation can influence public health, migration, politics, and more.

 

It's a Sin

This series, starring Olly Alexander (lead singer of the band Years and Years), follows the lives of five friends in the UK during the rise of HIV/AIDS among the gay community. The show portrays how fear and misinformation led to new infections, rejection, and suicide among those affected. Russell T. Davies is also the creator of Years and Years.