More than 1 in 10 news websites promote unfounded health claims 

Roughly 1 in 10 news websites analyzed by NewsGuard, a project launched by longtime journalists Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, feature misinformation about health. NewsGuard analyzed nearly 3,000 websites that account for 96% of how Americans consume news, and found that 11% provided news with health misinformation, including references to the debunked link between vaccines and autism. NewsGuard also has a system of rating sites based on reliability, and of the sites considered somewhat unreliable, nearly 40% publish false or unfounded health claims. The findings are especially concerning because these sites accounted for more than 49 million social media engagements — higher than for more reputable news sources such as Forbes, NPR, or Business Insider.