At the end of January last year, the internet was awash with a flurry of viral news stories promising the almost-impossible. Cancer was going to be cured. Within just one year, by a tiny Israeli biotechnology company. A true fairy tale of miracle-like proportions that was going to change the world. So, one year on, is cancer cured?
No.
It would appear that it was all a PR stunt or perhaps (to be exceptionally kind) just blown out of proportion. After the original, uncritical article in the Jerusalem Post, other articles copying the unchecked information spread like wildfire on social media. As scientists, researchers, doctors, cancer organizations and a handful of reputable journalists, including myself, scrambled to douse the flames, a runaway train of shares, posts and retweets created a mushroom cloud of misinformation, perfectly analyzed here by HealthFeedback.org.
