Menopause Gone Viral
what you need to be aware of when it comes to menopause advice online
Somewhere in the last few years, menopaused stopped being the thing that nobody talked about and became the thing that everybody suddenly has an opinion on. Whether it’s a workout specifically for menopause, a supplement to curb that irritating symptom or a natural solution that claims to do what your doctor cannot, everyone is biding for your attention.
On one hand, the representation and awareness of women & AFAB’s midlife health is great to see. The airtime is most definitely needed.
Unfortunately, the majority of the content is widely inaccurate, causing more harm than good.
The scale of menopause content online has exploded, but as we all know by now, popularity and accuracy are not the same thing. The majority of what has gone viral isn’t evidence based.
When researchers looked at the most visible HRT related content across Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube in the UK, they found that 67.2% of all claims fell outside established clinical guidelines from the British National Formulary and NICE. Disturbing.
That’s roughly 2 out of every 3 pieces of content you see online about HRT directly contradicting clinical guidance.
Someone’s financial gain, is your red flag
Of the 180 HRT related recommendations examined across major social media platforms, 139 (77.2%) were associated with a conflict of interest, with 117 of these conflicts being directly or indirectly related to menopause through provision of private practice, pharmaceutical industry funding or retail products marketed at menopause.
This would suggest (to no one’s surprise) that the information your are seeing is designed to sell you something rather than help you make informed decisions.
Tiktoks version of ‘awareness’
Tiktok has become the go to classroom for alot of people, with many people searching on Tiktok before even going to google.
A review of 155 menopause videos, with a combined 9.42 million plays, found:
Only 8.4% discussed HRT which is the treatment with the strongest clinical backing for most symptoms.
29.7% promoted ‘natural’ remedies like castor oil and Moringa, which don’t have robust evidence behind them for menopause symptoms.
92.9% included no citation to a scientific source whatsoever.
9% were suspected to be AI-generated, some apparently using real physicians’ likenesses without consent.
24.5% contained explicit promotional content designed to sell a product.
When these videos were scored on DISCERN, a standard tool for rating the reliability of health information, the average came out at 11.50 out of 25.
Professional sounding platforms are not much better
If your instinct is now saying ‘I should google this instead’, the research isn’t much kinder to websites.
Public health information is supposed to be written at roughly an 8th grade (year 9 to us UK folks) reading level so that most people can actually use it. When the top HRT websites were assessed, the average reading level came out at grade 12 which is considered college/university level. Only 58% scored good to excellent for information quality and 17% scored poor or very poor.
So you’re either faced with information that’s totally problematic or hard to understand. Joy.
Let’s not spiral
Before we totally spiral ourselves into a panic, let’s get better at reading the room. Here’s a few things that are worth remembering before you let an unhinged 30 second video from a random influencer shape your health decisions:
Follow the money. Who benefits from you taking this advice? Sure it’s nice if people get paid for their content but is there a supplement link in bio? A private clinic being plugged? A ‘code AMY10’ situation?
What are the sources? Nearly 93% of Tiktok menopause content had no citations. If there is a citation, go check it out. I have seen people cite studies that have nothing to do with the thing they are saying just to have some credibility. Even if you’re not a research reader, look at the abstract, does it match what they’re saying?
Is this a healthcare professional? Just because someone is dressed like a doctor does not mean they know what they’re talking about. It’s probably ai - these videos using medical professionals likeness are already out there. Who is this person? What do they do?
Is ‘natural’ being promoted without evidence? While natural products may feel safer intuitively, the research does not support the superiority of 'natural menopause treatments. Content heavily promoting unproven remedies like castor oil or specific herbal supplements usually minimise HRT or dismiss it altogether. Appealing to natural solutions is a fallacy, just because something is natural doesn’t mean it is good, right or healthy. Or that ‘unnatural’ things are bad.
What does the content refuse to say? Good information on HRT explains what it can treat (hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, low mood, low libido with testosterone) and what it can't or shouldn't be sold as. It’s not a cure all, an anti ageing treatment or a disease prevention miracle. If a piece of content is only telling you the upside or the horror story, it’s not helpful.
Is there room for difference? Menopause experiences vary hugely, just like menstrual cycles! Anything that says ‘everyone should’ or ‘no one should’ take HRT can be disregarded as prioritising engagement over information.
Here’s What To Do…
Under served areas of women’s health are vulnerable to misinformation online. use what you find online to generate questions, not out right conclusions, and take those questions to someone who can actually look at your history and your symptoms and discuss your options. Don’t buy anything!!
We will be continuing this discussion on menopause & HRT with proper evidence based information in my fitness community - The Snack Pass. Here you can already find useful cheat sheets on all kinds of topics.
The algorithm also compels me to ask you to like, comment and restack this post (only if you enjoyed it of course) so that new people can find me. The best way to support me is to either leave me a little tip here or by joining my fitness community - The Snack Pass. There are no paywalls here and I’d like to keep it that way. Despite myself, I also still use Instagram, so maybe follow me there too. As always, these posts are for informational purposes only and do not constitute individual medical advice.
J Gunter, “Addressing the Challenges of Online Misinformation and Unregulated Products in the Clinical Management of Menopause.,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2025, doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005989.
M. McCartney, R. Morgan-Young, F. Sullivan, D. J. Murphy, J. Albulushi, and J. Larkin, “Does online information about hormone replacement therapy (or menopause hormone therapy) reflect indications from the British National Formulary and guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: a cross-sectional study of UK media,” BMJ Open, 2025, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-094773.
S. Hanfling, J. L. Ragos, V. Chauhan, S. Reed, K. S. MacRae, and R. Rubin, “(123) Menopause Goes Viral: The Quality and Credibility of TikTok’s Health Content,” The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2026, doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdag063.114.