"We will NEVER trust you again": FDA says 'internet going down' in PSA about misinformation, sparking hilarious reactions online

Photo via Getty Images
Food and Drug Administration. (Photo via Getty Images)

United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sparked hilarious reactions online after it released a public service announcement regarding the dissemination of misinformation. On May 22, the federal agency released a 35-second video with a voice-over explaining how misinformation spreads faster than facts.

The voice-over says:

"Are you prepared? The internet is going down later this week! It's going to be crazy. The real truth the government refuses to tell you. Previous account banned for sharing the truth. Wait a minute, this is misinformation. You maybe spreading misinformation unintentionally. Confirm the credibility of the source before contributing to the conversation."

The video concludes by urging users to check the federal agency's rumor control page to see how the organization is battling misinformation.

However, the agency's efforts did not sit right with several internet users, who slammed the video, with one of them commenting:


Twitter reacts to FDA's announcement on misinformation

After FDA's PSA about spreading misinformation went viral, Twitterati mocked the video. Several users slammed the federal agency for releasing the video on disseminating misinformation when they themselves spread false information regarding Covid-19 vaccines.

Others urged users not to listen to the FDA and deemed them to be the biggest "purveyor" of misinformation.

Screenshot of a Twitter user mocking the FDA's video on spreading misinformation. (Photo via @US_FDA/Twitter)
Screenshot of a Twitter user mocking the FDA's video on spreading misinformation. (Photo via @US_FDA/Twitter)

FDA said misinformation about health-related matters leads to lower life expectancy in US citizens

While speaking to CNBC in an interview published in April 2023, FDA commissioner Robert Califf claimed that dissemination of health-related news has contributed to reduced life expectancy in the citizens of the United States.

In the interview, Califf said that the coronavirus pandemic's surge in disinformation and rising political tensions are two reasons why the U.S. has a shorter average life expectancy than other high-income nations.

The transmission of false information, he stated, "bothers him a lot," adding that the US is virtually in "last place" when compared to other first-world countries.

"This is not uniformly distributed, we have what I call the disparities that we've known for a long time. [But] the big new one that we are seeing really emerging in a major way is rural status. People in rural areas are faring much worse health-wise. Why aren’t we using medical products as effectively and efficiently as our peer countries? A lot of it has to do with choices that people make because of the things that influenced their thinking.”

He claims that the disinformation extends beyond COVID-19 to include health issues such as cardiovascular disease. He claims that now that everyone is linked to the Internet, disinformation may reach a broader audience, making others more cautious about their health care.

“It’s looking worse, not better, over the last several years.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy in the United States decreased for the second year in a row in 2021, declining from 77.0 to 76.1 years.

Daily Mail reports that America's life expectancy is now the lowest among the G7 countries and isn't even in the top 50 worldwide.

The average lifespan in the United States is about 77 years, whereas it is 80 years in the UK. The average lifespan in Japan is 84 years.

Data estimates that one in every 25 five-year-old youngsters in America will not live to reach their 40th birthday.

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