Wigan doctor turns to YouTube to tackle misinformation

Reaching one family member this way can also help different generations, the doctor said.

“I sent a mum a video with some developmental milestones for her child – she watched it and when I saw her again she said my mum’s watched your video on breast cancer, and my gran watched your video on bowel cancer,” he added.

Last year a report by the independent fact checking charity Full Fact found 74% of people were worried about the spread of misleading or false information.

Dr Adu-Sarkodie said he would like to see other medics copying his example.

“This is the world we live in now,” he said.

“It’s not the same as a few years ago where you could give a patient a leaflet.

“It needs to be deeper than that because there’s more false information out there than there are people who are qualified, and who are trying to put the correct facts out.”

Dr Tim Dalton, associate medical director at the NHS Greater Manchester integrated care board, said: “We welcome Dr Adu-Sarkodie’s effort to share important health messages with the public through his YouTube channel.

“As a busy GP, his short, informative videos tackle important health issues in a way that’s easy for people to understand.”