{"id":107034,"date":"2026-07-28T12:34:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=107034"},"modified":"2026-08-10T14:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T19:16:47","slug":"combating-medical-misinformation-how-uchicago-medicines-doctor-monica-peek-builds-trust-with-skeptics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/combating-medical-misinformation-how-uchicago-medicines-doctor-monica-peek-builds-trust-with-skeptics\/","title":{"rendered":"LISTEN: Combating medical misinformation: How UChicago Medicine&#8217;s Doctor Monica Peek builds trust with skeptics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Sydney Meyer<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0online influencers who discourage hormonal birth control, or false claims from\u00a0U.S.\u00a0Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u00a0about vaccines\u00a0and Tylenol, fact-based information about health and wellness is being debated in various spheres of American life. Reporter Sydney Meyer sat down with Dr. Monica Peek, an academic internist at UChicago Medicine, to learn how medical institutions and individual providers can work to combat dis- and misinformation and\u00a0establish\u00a0trust with patients in the communities they serve.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559731&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:151,&quot;335559740&quot;:283,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Sydney Meyer and Dr. Monica Peek by MedillReports\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=true&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F2369521085&#038;show_artwork=true&#038;maxheight=1000&#038;maxwidth=800\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Transcript:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Sydney Meyer:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0UChicago Medicine\u00a0recently announced\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0pledging over a billion dollars to community\u00a0benefits\u00a0this upcoming fiscal year. This comes at a time when many Americans are re-examining how and from whom they seek medical advice.\u00a0In 2025, the American Psychological Association called medical misinformation one of the most urgent threats to public health.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0become increasingly essential for community medical organizations and individual physicians to address the spread of misinformation in their practices. Here to talk about this issue is\u00a0Dr. Monica Peek, an academic\u00a0internist\u00a0at UChicago Medicine. Dr. Peek, thank you for being here.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dr. Monica Peek:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0Thanks for having me.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0I mentioned UChicago Medicine&#8217;s commitment to community benefits, and I was wondering how that community presence shows up when you are actually in the room with patients?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">A lot of the community\u00a0benefit is\u00a0around community-based resources and education, some of which\u00a0is\u00a0outside the hospital walls. Many people think about health not only when\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0in a physician&#8217;s office. One of the things that the community benefit dollars are trying to do is let the people in the South Side of Chicago know that our commitment to the South Side health and vitality is unwavering despite some of the sociopolitical changes that are happening right now. During the pandemic, one of the things that the university did was\u00a0really\u00a0lean\u00a0in to try and be a trusted source to combat misinformation. This is, like you said, another time where there is a rise of\u00a0misinformation and purposeful disinformation that is entering the national\u00a0discourse\u00a0about things that should not be controversial. Fact-based information is now up for discussion or\u00a0re-discussion. And so that is causing a lot of confusion unnecessarily. And so public health institutions or health\u00a0care institutions are readying themselves to try and be trusted sources of information for the community.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">In what ways have you seen misinformation or disinformation spread to patients? And\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0wondering if you could talk about groups that are particularly\u00a0susceptible.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">People who rely more heavily on social media as their source of information, people with lower levels of literacy and health literacy, and so that means they&#8217;re less able to discern sources of truth from non-truth, more easily hoodwinked by things that may be smooth, glossy\u00a0and sophisticated.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">There are various misinformation or disinformation claims about different health areas, but they all kind of relay the same message,\u00a0which is that big medicine or\u00a0Big\u00a0Pharma hurts more than it helps. And oftentimes they encourage the use of\u00a0natural\u00a0remedies.\u00a0Can you talk about why you think vitamins and supplements and natural remedies have such a hold on people right now?<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Well,\u00a0I think there\u00a0are a lot of things\u00a0at\u00a0play. First,\u00a0natural\u00a0always sounds like\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0a good thing. If\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0natural,\u00a0it must be healthy, at least healthier. We have an impression that things that are natural\u00a0can&#8217;t\u00a0hurt us, without thinking like, well, snake\u00a0venom is\u00a0natural. That could certainly kill us.\u00a0There&#8217;s sort of a misconception that herbs and natural things actually don&#8217;t have any side effects or any downsides to them.\u00a0Many\u00a0medicines\u00a0derive from plants.\u00a0And\u00a0that&#8217;s\u00a0how we learned about them in the\u00a0first\u00a0place.\u00a0There\u00a0are things that are\u00a0good from herbal remedies. The challenge with the natural or herbal field is that it is\u00a0completely unregulated.\u00a0There&#8217;s\u00a0not the\u00a0kind of\u00a0scientific evidence\u00a0required\u00a0for prescription medicines, so we\u00a0don&#8217;t\u00a0know if any of the claims that are made are true.\u00a0Two, there are no rules around truth in advertising.\u00a0So\u00a0people can say whatever they want.\u00a0Three,\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0not even required to put\u00a0into\u00a0the bottle what they say is on the outside of the bottle. They could fill it with little pellets of\u00a0dirt\u00a0and that would be A-OK. Are you getting what you think you are? Is there any evidence? Based on what? The unfortunate aspect is that\u00a0there&#8217;s\u00a0a lot of money to be made because if you\u00a0don&#8217;t\u00a0have to invest in the\u00a0hard work\u00a0of trying to prove that something works, then\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0all profit.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">One thing that\u00a0you&#8217;re\u00a0getting at is that the clinical process is confusing. And when you have a product that is legally required to lay out all side effects, and\u00a0you&#8217;re\u00a0comparing it to a product that is not.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">How do you know the difference? Both are advertising on TV, both saying\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0doing good things.\u00a0There&#8217;s\u00a0no PSA that says,\u00a0\u201cHey, listen, everybody, things that are prescribed from your doctor have gone through the wringer with all these tests.\u201d\u00a0Anytime anyone is on a clinical trial, they\u00a0have to\u00a0report all the symptoms\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0having, even if\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0completely unrelated to the actual medicine.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">A lot of the scholarship that\u00a0I&#8217;ve\u00a0read,\u00a0and some of which\u00a0you&#8217;ve\u00a0written, really\u00a0emphasizes\u00a0the importance of listening to patient concerns. Doctors are increasingly being asked to take on\u00a0kind of a\u00a0communications role with their patients. Do you feel like doctors\u00a0are being\u00a0adequately prepared to do that?<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">I would say in general, no.\u00a0There&#8217;s\u00a0not\u00a0been like\u00a0a universal reteaching of all physicians.\u00a0So\u00a0for example,\u00a0in the wake of the opioid crisis,\u00a0in order to\u00a0renew your license, every doctor had to take some mandatory training about opioid use disorders, how to treat them, medical management, things like that.\u00a0So\u00a0people\u00a0had\u00a0a better sense. There\u00a0hasn&#8217;t\u00a0been that kind of hard stop,\u00a0like,\u00a0this is a terrible rise of disinformation.\u00a0Let&#8217;s\u00a0have some\u00a0regulation\u00a0around this and some forced retraining. And some physicians, as everyone knows, have better bedside\u00a0manner\u00a0and interpersonal skills than others. That is something that is hard\u00a0to\u00a0teach, because a lot of it is dependent on your inherent personality, but\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0more and more\u00a0important now than ever.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0If\u00a0you&#8217;re\u00a0just joining, I am speaking with Dr.\u00a0Monica\u00a0Peek, an academic\u00a0internist\u00a0at UChicago Medicine. There are\u00a0definitely groups\u00a0that have\u00a0legitimate reasons to be skeptical of mainstream medicine.\u00a0You yourself have spent\u00a0a significant portion\u00a0of your career studying diabetes and its disproportionate negative outcomes in the\u00a0Black community. You said something that has stuck with me, which was\u00a0along the lines of\u00a0the question physicians should ask\u00a0isn&#8217;t\u00a0necessarily how can we make people more trusting, but how can we make our institutions more trustworthy?\u00a0What do more trustworthy institutions look like to you?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">That&#8217;s\u00a0an excellent question, and\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0going to answer that by also sort of doubling back to the fact that\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0the institutions that have done a lot of the harm as far as creating mistrust.\u00a0So\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0not just that African Americans have worse diabetes outcomes. That could be for\u00a0any\u00a0number of reasons.\u00a0But part of the reason is because of the disparate care that they receive when coming to our health\u00a0care institutions. There has been such a large body of evidence that has documented disparities in care in every kind of disease, every kind of\u00a0settings. Is this person going to be offered the latest and best in cancer therapy? Are they going to make sure that\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0getting referred appropriately for their annual eye exams to ophthalmology? Are they going to have their labs tested as regularly to make sure that their diabetes is on target? Are they going to be offered this revolutionary class of new medications, the\u00a0GLP-1 receptor agonists\u00a0that everyone wants?\u00a0So\u00a0when resources are constrained, those who have more money and more social capital and better\u00a0insurance\u00a0get the golden prize.\u00a0Populations who have less money, who\u00a0live in rural areas and have less access,\u00a0who are racial and ethnic minorities, any way in which you have less social capital,\u00a0you&#8217;re\u00a0not going to get all the bells and whistles. And then there&#8217;s just that long history that our country has around anti-Black\u00a0racism.\u00a0Enslaved persons were sold for\u00a0medical experimentation. From that,\u00a0all the way to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment,\u00a0which\u00a0didn&#8217;t\u00a0end until after I was born.\u00a0We now have safeguards around people that are imprisoned because they used to just do experiments on them without consent.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">So\u00a0these are the lived experiences of people who had active harm done to them by doctors in white coats. It is not the job of those people to then rally themselves and try and just shake it\u00a0off,\u00a0but\u00a0is the job of our institutions to rebuild that trust. What does that look like?\u00a0We&#8217;re\u00a0going to have to go\u00a0above and beyond\u00a0to meet people more than halfway. As a physician, every time I meet a new patient, no matter who they are, what their social identity is, if it&#8217;s exactly like mine, if it&#8217;s a\u00a0Black\u00a0woman, or if it&#8217;s radically different from mine, I give them the same spiel about, this is a safe space for you.\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0going to do my\u00a0very best\u00a0job to take the best care of you.\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0not there just to make sure that their STD has been treated with antibiotics and that their diabetes is controlled and that\u00a0I&#8217;ve\u00a0given them their annual influenza vaccine.\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0there also to make sure that when their mom has died and they are still having problems getting out the bed, they have lost their job and\u00a0can&#8217;t\u00a0afford their medications. We can talk about how we can try and get those medications at a lower cost and what we can do to still make this work.\u00a0Those kind of spaces\u00a0that I try and create as a physician\u00a0is\u00a0the same kind of work that we\u00a0have to\u00a0do as institutions. What kind of signage do we have on the walls? Where are\u00a0we physically\u00a0located\u00a0in the communities? Is the parking $5,000 or is it $5? We are always sending a message that lets them know if\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0valued or not. That is the work that lies ahead of us.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Something\u00a0that&#8217;s\u00a0been sitting in the back of my mind is the federal funding cuts to research.\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0really interested in how research and care intersect. Do those\u00a0impact\u00a0physicians&#8217; ability to effectively build trust?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0The federal funding cuts to NIH have disproportionately affected female researchers and researchers who are persons of color\u00a0that\u00a0disproportionately investigate health equity, work that is trying to improve the health of marginalized communities and try to make their health not better than everyone else&#8217;s, but just as good. Everyone deserves to be healthy.\u00a0Some of that work was funding initiatives that may have been related to care delivery. And\u00a0so\u00a0to your point about miscommunication, this is still an active issue. We are still trying to build trust with communities. And now\u00a0we&#8217;re\u00a0in a state where\u00a0we&#8217;re\u00a0increasing the number of people that\u00a0we&#8217;re\u00a0putting into the mistrustful bucket. The demographics of people who\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0putting into that bucket\u00a0is\u00a0much wider than it had been before.\u00a0They were also cutting funding for other\u00a0things\u00a0too. Clinical trials.\u00a0Clinical trials\u00a0frequently\u00a0may be the last\u00a0option\u00a0for people who have diseases that failed therapy, and it may be their last hope. What message does that send the community about our government and health\u00a0care institutions and their willingness to fight for people who are in their potential last days?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Medicine is supposed to be a profession where we do no harm, where we are trying to help people, you know, not just live, but live with dignity, joy,\u00a0function\u00a0and purpose.\u00a0I think people\u00a0expect more from a caring profession.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Last question. And\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0wondering what\u00a0communicating\u00a0with people who are skeptical of your area of expertise has taught you about how to do that.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0This was years ago, years ago. Somebody came into the office who had an abscess on her back. And she had a fried egg\u00a0with\u00a0like\u00a0some medical tape. And I said,\u00a0can\u00a0you tell me\u00a0what&#8217;s\u00a0going on?\u00a0And she said, she had heard that this is what you do to bring an abscess, a boil, to a head. And I was like, that is so fascinating, and thank you for sharing, so I have a better understanding of how\u00a0you&#8217;ve\u00a0learned to treat this in your family. It tells me that you are trying to do your best to be healthy, and that\u00a0you&#8217;ve\u00a0also come to see me and to seek\u00a0additional\u00a0help.\u00a0So\u00a0five\u00a0gold stars on all that. Now,\u00a0turns\u00a0out that actually, that doesn&#8217;t help. But before I say that\u00a0doesn&#8217;t\u00a0help,\u00a0I&#8217;ve\u00a0given lots of positive feedback and acknowledged all the things that she did to try and help herself. I\u00a0didn&#8217;t\u00a0shame her. I brought her into the conversation.\u00a0We&#8217;re\u00a0now a team working toward\u00a0the goal of getting her better.\u00a0That&#8217;s\u00a0what we really need to be doing as clinicians. We\u00a0don&#8217;t\u00a0have to make people feel small. We can use a language that brings them in and still\u00a0combat\u00a0misinformation and disinformation.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0Dr. Monica Peek, thank you so much.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Peek:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Thank\u00a0you for having me.<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Meyer:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0For Medill Reports,\u00a0I&#8217;m\u00a0Sydney Meyer.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:-5,&quot;335559739&quot;:169,&quot;335559740&quot;:270,&quot;335559991&quot;:10}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Sydney Meyer is a magazine specialization graduate student at Medill.<\/span><\/i><em> You can follow her on Instagram at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sydneyjmeyer\/\">@sydneyjmeyer<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sydney Meyer Medill Reports Whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0online influencers who discourage hormonal birth control, or false claims from\u00a0U.S.\u00a0Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u00a0about vaccines\u00a0and Tylenol, fact-based information about health and wellness is being debated in various spheres of American life. Reporter Sydney Meyer sat down with Dr. Monica Peek, an academic internist at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1040,"featured_media":107037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,5543,5569],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-science","category-msj26","category-summer-2026"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>LISTEN: Combating medical misinformation: How UChicago Medicine&#039;s Doctor Monica Peek builds trust with skeptics - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/combating-medical-misinformation-how-uchicago-medicines-doctor-monica-peek-builds-trust-with-skeptics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LISTEN: Combating medical misinformation: How UChicago Medicine&#039;s Doctor Monica Peek builds trust with skeptics - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Sydney Meyer Medill Reports Whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0online influencers who discourage hormonal birth control, or false claims from\u00a0U.S.\u00a0Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. 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