Promises of a TikTok ban have been looming over the popular video app for months, and this weekend’s brief halt to operations gave millions a glimpse of what a full ban would entail.
said several popular doctor content creators who post videos on various social media sites, including TikTok MedPage Today Why are they so opposed to banning TikTok, stating that it would result in the loss of an outlet to share information and dispel rampant misinformation.
William Flanary, M.D., is an ophthalmologist best known for his popular comedy videos as his alter ego.”Dr. Glucoseflecken“, he has 2.4 million followers on TikTok alone.
“Social media and TikTok in particular — that’s where the people are, that’s where the next generation is,” Flanary said. “So when you hear about the hype [and] The political conflict that causes this [ban] “It will cause…all doctors should know how important social media is to the general knowledge that people gain.”
Betsy Grunch, MD, a neurosurgeon in Gainesville, Georgia, has amassed a following of 2.3 million people.”ladyspinedoc” on TikTok, where she shares medical information and insights into her daily life. She said that while she uses her TikTok platform for education, she also uses it to “inspire the next generation of healthcare workers and show younger generations what we do.” “
Zachary Rubin, MDThe pediatric allergist who practices near Chicago and has 1.4 million followers on TikTok said posting on the app has opened many doors professionally, even if it was never his plan to go viral on social media. He cautioned that doctors’ voices are essential to supporting good information on health care topics.
“If TikTok disappears, there will likely be a temporary vacuum as misinformation will become more prevalent on these platforms… especially with the announcement that Meta is changing its content moderation policies to reflect the policies of X, formerly known as Twitter, which I believe is… “It’s a bad idea.”
Part of the reason posting on the app allows doctors to connect more broadly with young people — including those they don’t follow — is TikTok’s powerful algorithm that determines which videos users see. This makes TikTok stand out from other social media apps and makes it an effective starting point for building a following on other platforms.
“The way the TikTok algorithm works is that it allows your message to reach a wider audience more quickly than other platforms can,” Flanary explained, adding that this makes TikTok “a popular platform for spreading ideas, which makes it a threat to very powerful people.”
He added that banning TikTok would be a “major assault on freedom of expression” and “a blatant example of censorship.”
TikTok stopped working for US users on Saturday night, though the pause was short-lived, with the app back online just over 12 hours later.
Rubin said this weekend’s pause was “unnecessary” given how short it was and that “a lot of people expect it was a political move.” Both the message alerting users of the pause and the notification that the app was back online cited President Donald Trump’s message Recent statements It will “most likely” give the app a 90-day extension to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
In preparation for the TikTok ban, many Americans have flocked to other social media apps, including a surge in the Chinese app Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), which has similar features to TikTok.
Both Rubin and Grunch joined Xiaohongshu as part of this wave, but Flanary said he currently has no plans to join. Unlike some content creators and small businesses whose income and livelihood are tied to the platform, creating medical content is a side hustle for most doctor creators. Flanary said he considers content creation secondary to his clinical practice.
“Most doctors who are content creators…whether part-time or even full-time, are still practicing medicine, which I think is important for a medical content creator,” he said. “If you’re going to talk about medicine and patient care, I think you have to maintain a connection to medical practice.”
But like other creators, Rubin noted that doctors are “preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.” He already has a diverse social media presence, but noted that short-form content is more attainable for doctors to work into their busy schedules. Platforms geared toward long-form content, like YouTube, require a different type of content and time commitment.
However, Grunch said losing TikTok would be a real loss. She said: “I have spent 3 years of my life building this community of people who enjoy what I do, and I enjoy interacting with them. They become a virtual family.”
Flanary noted that while not all doctors need to be content creators, the profession needs to “understand the importance of this and not look down on content creation as a means of advocacy, a way to correct misinformation, and get the right medical treatment.” Information to young brains.”
