No Fake News in Healthcare: An Event to Debunk Misinformation at the UM School of Medicine

[Press Release] - Published on April 2, 2026 in Press Room

On Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 6:30 p.m., the Montpellier-Nîmes Faculty of Medicine will host an evening event focused on fake news in healthcare in the anatomy lecture hall of its historic building in Montpellier. Organized by the Faculty of Medicine, the ExposUM Institute, and the SILR, the event will feature Mircea Sofonea, an epidemiologist (University of Montpellier and Nîmes University Hospital), Valérie Handweiler, a science journalist, and Boris Hansel, an endocrinologist and nutritionist (AP-HP, Paris Cité University), who will be the guest speaker for the evening. This event aims to shed light on the mechanisms of health misinformation and ways to address it.

By invitation only

Understanding and Combating Fake News in Healthcare

In response to the proliferation of fake news in the healthcare sector, the Montpellier-Nîmes School of Medicine is continuing its commitment to education and prevention by hosting another edition of this discussion event, aimed primarily at residents and graduate students.

At the intersection of health humanities and evidence-based medicine, this event will explore the history of biomedical fake news, the mechanisms through which it emerges and spreads, and its consequences—both individual and collective. The presentations will also explore the response strategies currently in use, whether it be fact-checking in the healthcare setting or scientific mediation on social media. Particular attention will be paid to the production of scientific information, its potential misappropriation, and the role of artificial intelligence in contemporary disinformation dynamics.

Hosted by Mircea Sofonea and Valérie Handweiler, the evening will feature a presentation by Boris Hansel, who is dedicated to disseminating reliable biomedical information and combating health-related misinformation, particularly on social media. The event is open to the public, subject to availability, with priority given to residents and graduate students.