Author | LSE Visiting Senior Fellow | Escapee medic | Ex science & health ITV News & BBC Newsnight | investigations ed The BMJ | Scouse | Rep'd @LittleHardman
Joined December 2010
- Tweets 1,550
- Following 2,318
- Followers 23,087
- Likes 6,830
64 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
23 Sep 2025
New book klaxon: I finally p!ss EVERYONE off!
What happens when you put health on platforms geared for shopping, PR & entertainment?
What's medicine & what's marketing? What impact is it having on health?
In public health lingo-commercial meets digital determinants of health
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
Much interest (and hope) invested in if shingles vaccination can reduce dementia risk, but what does the evidence actually show? I'll be presenting some new analyses virtually (and in person in Oxford) at 12.15pm UK time 17th July (free registration) events.ox.ac.uk/oxford_event…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
Jun 8
Are algorithms making us sick by feeding us remedies and pills that we dont need. @deb_cohen spks @YorkFestofIdeas @JoanConcannon
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
Jun 8
The idea of us being sick till proven healthy, has created fear and the drug industry uses this as a marketing hook. @deb_cohen @YorkFestofIdeas @JoanConcannon @UniOfYork
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Jun 6
RT @ben_geisler: 🧠 The nocebo effect:
Negative expectations can cause real harm
Someone convinced a drug will hurt them may experience effe…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
Jun 5
Invitation to take part in the 'Our Future Health' research just dropped through our letter box.
Worth having a read of this BMJ investigation to be better informed.
Jun 4
Delighted that my and @mgtmccartney @bmj_latest investigation about "Our Future Health" is a finalist in the @absw awards.
Judges said: "A powerful, yet balanced, investigative piece....Provides the reader with maximum room to take a view."
bmj.com/content/bmj/390/bmj.…
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Jun 4
This is how to do screening explainers...sci comm at its finest
Jun 3
Black men have a much higher risk of getting prostate cancer. It's unwise to test white men at the same rate due to false positives leading to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. Could you please, for one fucking day, give it a rest?
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Jun 4
Delighted that my and @mgtmccartney @bmj_latest investigation about "Our Future Health" is a finalist in the @absw awards.
Judges said: "A powerful, yet balanced, investigative piece....Provides the reader with maximum room to take a view."
bmj.com/content/bmj/390/bmj.…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
Hate to say that me and @deb_cohen told you so but jamanetwork.com/journals/jam…
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May 30
Did I say this?! Unlike me to say what I really think...😬
May 30
“Wellness is a completely unregulated wild west. It’s the new snake oil.”
@deb_cohen takes @alokjha on a tour of medical misinformation on social media. Listen to “Babbage” economist.com/podcasts/2026/…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
May 29
“There's more information than ever before, but people feel less informed.” On “Babbage”, @deb_cohen argues that the internet is hijacking our health economist.com/podcasts/2026/…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
May 28
Have you been tempted by a quick health fix on social media? @deb_cohen has some advice for you. Listen to “Babbage” economist.com/podcasts/2026/…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
Just under a week to go. #LSEHealth hosts @hcpearson & @deb_cohen on 2 June — a conversation on evidence, medicine and what comes next, with audience Q&A, drinks and a book signing.
🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
ALT Beyond belief event card
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
May 27
Why are people trusting TikTok over traditional medicine? @deb_cohen and @alokjha discuss the dangers on "Babbage" economist.com/podcasts/2026/…
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
LSE Health hosts @hcpearson & @deb_cohen on 2 June for a discussion on evidence, medicine and policy — followed by audience Q&A, drinks reception and book signing.
📍 Wolfson Theatre, LSE | 6.30pm 🎟️
🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
ALT Beyond Belief event card
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A chart went viral this weekend suggesting that there was a link between declining fertility rates and the rise of smartphones.
But the truth is a bit more complicated, write @deb_cohen and @PWGTennant 👇
buff.ly/kcYLSJ7
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‘A claim this big would need a broad, peer-reviewed body of evidence pointing in the same direction, not a viral graph.’
Read @deb_cohen and @PWGTennant on the truth about fertility rates and smartphones👇
buff.ly/kcYLSJ7
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May 16
Thanks @ILFDublin for inviting me to talk about my book "Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked our Health" out now in North America and Australia too
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
At a time when trust in institutions is under strain, the question of how we know what works in health has rarely mattered more.
#LSEHealth hosts @hcpearson & @deb_cohen on 2 June. 🎟️
🔗bit.ly/41LH2CG
ALT Beyond belief event card
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
How do we translate evidence into practice — and what happens when it collides with political reality?
@hcpearson & @deb_cohen discuss at LSE Health on 2 June.
Audience Q&A and book signing to follow.
🔗bit.ly/41LH2CG
ALT Beyond belief event card
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Deborah Cohen retweeted
NEW: #LSEHealth welcomes @hcpearson, author of Beyond Belief, in conversation with @deb_cohen on how medicine embraced evidence-based thinking — and what the future holds.
📍 LSE | 2 June | 6.30pm 🎟️
🔗 bit.ly/41LH2CG
ALT Beyond belief event card
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