BOSTON — Mike Varshavski, popularly known as Doctor Mike, is a family physician and digital content creator dedicated to countering medical misinformation. With a follower count of 14 million on YouTube, he combines clarity with entertainment to connect with his audience. At the STAT Summit on Wednesday, he urged medical leaders, including the American Medical Association (AMA), to adopt similar approaches.
He believes that while their intentions may be good, they struggle to engage a broad audience. He cited a recent incident where health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a controversial claim during a video appearance, causing an uproar. Meanwhile, the AMA responded with a strongly worded tweet that reached only 5,000 individuals, and their communication fell short with subpar video content from the AMA president. “It’s not enough,” Varshavski remarked.
Earlier, Dan Jernigan, a former CDC official who resigned in August, reiterated the need for professional medical organizations to better address the erratic statements from government officials.
This critique of the AMA reflects a growing pushback among physicians against its traditional, less vocal advocacy. Particularly, younger doctors are urging the organization to speak out against the unscientific policies of the Trump administration. Varshavski emphasized that effective communication should also be approachable and appealing.
“It’s not about fancy outfits; it’s about being presentable and recognizing that high-quality filming isn’t exclusive to Hollywood. The AMA can afford to invest in that,” he remarked. He believes that videos that are well-produced and delivered in a relatable manner foster more trust among the public, particularly those less informed about science. (The AMA did not provide a comment regarding Varshavski’s statements.)
Varshavski was critical of the CDC’s past communication efforts, recalling how posts often received minimal engagement, which he equated to a failure of outreach. “If only three people are seeing it, it’s not achieving any meaningful impact,” he noted. He identified an ongoing gap in “evidence-based voices online,” which has been exploited by misinformation spreaders during the pandemic.
“People were left confused and made poor choices,” he explained, highlighting that those misinformed individuals are adept at using social media, while many in health care dismiss these platforms as beneath them.
To expand his reach, Varshavski employs humor and absurdity in his Doctor Mike channel, which helps to promote his more serious content through the algorithm. He observed that comedic videos can attract millions of viewers: “Without that engaging content, many would remain oblivious to the high-level misinformation circulating.”
He draws inspiration from popular creators like MrBeast to blend scientific education into entertaining topics. “How do we integrate scientific insight into these popular formats, making it accessible for those who normally watch non-educational content?” he pondered. Yet, he remains hopeful for collaboration with public health leaders to further disseminate credible information: “I feel like my channel is just scratching the surface,” he concluded.
