Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation in Diary of CEO podcast | BBC News

Now, a BBC World Service investigation has found that Stephen Bartlett is amplifying harmful health misinformation on his top podcast Diary of a CEO. Starting as a business podcast, there's been a noticeable shift towards health. Over 15 recent episodes, an average of 14 harmful claims were shared by the guests with little challenge from Bartlett. Leading health experts told the BBC the claims made on the podcast could sow distrust in medicine and could lead to patient harm. Here's Jackie Wakefield.

Steven Bartlett is one of the most famous entrepreneurs in the UK. And host of one of the biggest business podcasts globally, The Diary of a CEO, topping the charts in places like Nigeria, India, and Mexico.

But over the last 18 months, there's been a notable change in its guests and subject matter.

We tracked the podcast's episodes from the last 18 months. Then, we analyzed the health-related ones.

We fact-checked the claims of 15 episodes with the advice of four experts.

We found an average of 14 potentially harmful claims per episode.

Bartlett rarely challenges these claims.

One of the guests Bartlett hosted was Dr. Mark Hyman, an alternative medicine doctor.

Gluten can cause everything from osteoporosis to autism to schizophrenia.

Another guest claimed the ketogenic diet was a treatment solution without chemotherapy.

To manage cancer without toxicity is to simultaneously restrict

the two fuels that are needed to drive this disregulated growth.

While transitioning the whole body off to a fuel that the tumor cells can't use,

which is fatty acids and ketone bodies.

At no point in the episode did Steven challenge the suggestion that the keto diet could treat cancer.

When we next hear from him, he says,

So what can we learn from our ancestors about cancer?

If you were a cancer patient who took some of this advice and maybe changed your dietary patterns

and became very restrictive when you were undergoing treatment, you could potentially and very realistically get very, very sick.

But what could have motivated this shift to health?

It's a very health-related clickbait content with scary titles,

with this thing is toxic, this thing is going to kill you, and we know that that

is does really well online with the algorithm amplifying that.

A spokesperson for Flight Studio, Steven Bartlett's production company said,

The Diary Of A CEO (DOAC), is an open-minded, long-form conversation with individuals identified for their distinguished and eminent career and/or consequential life experience.

They said each guest is thoroughly researched, offered freedom of expression, and they hear a range of voices,

not just those Steven and the DOAC team necessarily agree with.

Dr. Thomas Seyfried said he stands by the statements that he made in the interview.

Dr. Mark Hyman didn't respond to requests for comment.

Is there a risk in having too much

meat products?

Bartlett's shift to health may be great for the reach of his podcast.

But what's the line between hosting contrarian views versus allowing them to go unchallenged?

Well, you can watch the full investigation on the BBC iPlayer.

But let's continue with this.

Let's speak to Dr. Liz O'Riordan, who's a cancer expert, a former breast surgeon and author.

Thank you, doctor, for being here with us.

How big a problem do you think is health misinformation, especially on podcasts?

People are going to the internet to get information when they're diagnosed with cancer.

And there is so much misinformation out there on videos, on

websites, and podcasts are the latest thing.

Guests can say what they like, they're not fact-checked by the hosts.

And those 60-second clips are now being taken as medical advice.

And my worry is that people will listen to that advice and not their doctors.

And people will die as a result of this.

You've written a book that debunks myths.

What are the most common that you see crop up?

One of the commonest is that sugar causes cancer.

And that you can treat cancer with a juicing diet or by cutting sugar out of your diet.

There is no magic bullet.

And I think cancer patients are vulnerable, they're looking for certainty and hope.

And no doctor can give you that.

But when you see people on podcasts and videos saying, hey, we can cure you.

Give us your money for supplements.

Real harm can happen.

We know that for breast cancer, women who choose to have alternative therapy rather than mainstream therapy

are six times more likely to die.

In terms of the celebrity element just generally, because there are so many podcasts out there.

How much extra traction does that give some of what you're talking about?

It's huge.

We know an Elle Macpherson spoke earlier this year that she saw 32 doctors who recommended chemo.

And she decided not to have it.

There are women in Australia with curable breast cancers who are saying no to chemotherapy.

The ripple down effect is really, really damaging when a celebrity or influencer says this is what I did to cure my cancer.

Just a final thought then in terms of advice for people, because it is

just natural, it's human instinct to if you receive a diagnosis, you are probably at your most vulnerable point.

And you can so easily reach out to try to find alternative therapies,

suggestions.

So what should people do?

I'd say firstly, don't get your medical information from the internet.

If from the internet, fact-check anything you hear with reputable websites like CRUK or the American Cancer Society.

And just take a bit of time before you spend your money on things that might do more harm than good.