On Sept. 27, President Donald Trump shared an apparently AI-generated video of himself promoting a cure-all "medbed" – a medical conspiracy theory.

The video, which has since been deleted from his Truth Social account, resembled a Fox News segment on the show hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, but it never aired on the network.

“Every American will soon receive their own medbed card,” said the AI rendering of Trump.

But much like the mock news report, “medbeds” don’t actually exist.

The “medbed” conspiracy has roots in the QAnon movement and falsely claims that cure-all medical beds exist and are being kept from the public.

This moment is a reminder that medical misinformation can run rampant on social media, and it's important to be watchful for AI-generated content − even when posts come from prominent public figures or seemingly verified sources. It's true that recent innovations in health technology have prompted wellness and longevity movements, but “medbeds” are not one of these new treatments.

According to a 2024 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, most Americans encounter false health information online, and many are unsure whether it is accurate.

People should learn to recognize the difference between accidental misinformation and intentional disinformation, experts explained.

Medical misinformation shared online has real-life consequences

Nearly 70% of doctors polled said they think patient trust declined from 2020 to 2022, but only 21% of Americans said the same, according to a 2023 poll.

"Misinformation isn't a point of view, it does actual harm," Brian Castrucci, president of the de Beaumont Foundation, the public health philanthropy that commissioned the poll, previously told USA TODAY. "It's hurting physicians. It's hurting medical practice. And it's hurting the American public."

For example, during the height of the pandemic, some people with autoimmune disease couldn't get their prescription hydroxychloroquine because so many others were misled to believe it could help fight COVID-19, Castrucci said.

While the poll focused on COVID, Castrucci said it goes well beyond the pandemic.

Most doctors and the public get their information online, but they look for somewhat different sources. The vast majority of doctors said they trust medical or scientific journals, internet searches and colleagues, while other adults mainly put their faith in internet searches. These general internet searches can pull up an array of posts and websites, not just trusted, verified sources.

Castrucci has type 2 diabetes and said he often sees ads on social media for "Diabetes Cures!" even though there aren't any.

Social media has made it easier to spread medical misinformation "not from town to town but to millions with one click," he said.

Unsure how to tell medical fact from fiction? Experts offer some tips

By promoting fear or false hope, misinformation causes mental and physical fatigue, said David Novillo Ortiz, unit head on data digital health literacy for the World Health Organization.

It has a direct impact on trust in government, government response and public health messaging, which then disempowers people and risks their health, he previously told USA TODAY.

Disinformation is also a lie against which people can fight back, philosopher and author Lee McIntyre argued.

"I want people to train themselves," McIntyre suggested, to ask where the information in question is coming from, what's at stake, who's behind it and what benefit does it serve to get that information out to the public?

If several typically reliable sources agree, such as the CDC, along with experts or websites from well-known hospitals and universities, the information is more likely to be accurate, Dr. Richard Baron, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine, told USA TODAY.

"When you start to see information converging from reliable sources, that is trustworthy information," he added.

And while social media can provide insight into your own health, Dr. Franziska Haydanek, an OBGYN and online health educator, advises that new information should be discussed with your own doctor: “You might say, ‘Hey, I learned about this condition.’ I feel it might apply to me. Can we talk about if I meet the diagnosis criteria?’"

Contributing: Karen Weintraub

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump posted about a medical conspiracy theory called 'medbeds.' Here's what's going on.

Reporting by Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect