New findings published in PLOS Digital Health highlight the challenges public health experts face in combating misleading health information on social media, particularly amid ongoing debates over whether sunscreen is truly beneficial.
To investigate how sunscreen is portrayed online, researchers at the University of Alberta analyzed 971 of the most-viewed TikTok videos associated with five popular sunscreen-related hashtags: #sunscreen, #sunscreenviral, #spf, #sunscreenreview, and #sunprotection.
The researchers examined how sunscreen was represented in the videos and measured audience engagement through views, likes, shares, and comments.
“Sunscreen misinformation may attract disproportionate attention,” says Alessandro Marcon of the University of Alberta, Canada, and colleagues in a statement.
The findings showed that most of the TikTok videos analyzed promoted sunscreen use, accounting for 86.8% of the content. Only 6% contained health-related criticism, including claims that sunscreen is harmful (1.5%) or that it interferes with the benefits of sun exposure, such as vitamin D production (1.2%). Despite representing only a small fraction of the content, these videos attracted disproportionately high levels of engagement, receiving more likes, shares, and comments on average than pro-sunscreen videos.
“Sunscreen misinformation on TikTok constitutes an area of concern not for the total sum of overarching influence in terms of content production but rather in how strongly some sunscreen misinformation ideas resonated among particular audiences,” adds Marcon.
The researchers suggest that the elevated engagement may be driven by the controversial and attention-grabbing nature of the content, which can help videos spread more widely on social media platforms.
They also found that even videos promoting sunscreen often omitted key public health messaging. Most focused on beauty and skincare benefits rather than health outcomes, with only 6% specifically mentioning sunscreen’s role in reducing skin cancer risk.
“Our analysis showed TikTok is not necessarily flooded with sunscreen misinformation, but TikToks that dangerously claim that sunscreen is harmful or unnecessary receive comparatively high levels of audience engagement. TikTok content creators commonly promoted sunscreen as part of skincare regimens where sunscreen benefits were more commonly related to beauty rather than health,” said Marcon.
“It was surprising to see so many TikToks promoting sunscreen use without specifically mentioning the important role it plays in cancer prevention. Only 6% of the TikToks analyzed explicitly mentioned the benefits of reducing the risk of skin cancer.”
The study suggests that misinformation can spread widely not because it is more common, but because it is often more controversial and attention-grabbing. It also highlights a broader communication gap, as many creators emphasize sunscreen’s cosmetic benefits while overlooking its well-established role in preventing skin cancer.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com. To contact Chrissy with a story, please email chrissy @ thedebrief.org.