Every week, there seems to be a horror story about GLP-1s. At the moment, most are with semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), but that’s only because tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) is five years behind. Eli Lilly will get their turn at the guillotine, too.
Why News Exists
In the Harvard Business Review article, written by Peter Vanderwicken, “Why the News Is Not the Truth,” he describes and quotes Paul H. Weaver’s book which came from his thesis, “News and the Culture of Lying: How Journalism Really Works.” I’ve ordered the book and can’t wait to read and digest what he knows and shares.
Weaver worked at Ford Motor Company and was hired, as Vanderwicken says, as a “corporate propagandist.” He quotes Weaver:
Joseph Pulitzer, who in 1883 bought the sleepy New York World and in 20 years made it the country’s largest newspaper. Pulitzer accomplished that by bringing drama to news—by turning news articles into stories with a plot, actors in conflict, and colorful details.
Pulitzer made stories dramatic by adding blaring headlines, big pictures, and eye-catching graphics. His journalism took events out of their dry, institutional contexts and made them emotional rather than rational, immediate rather than considered, and sensational rather than informative.
(emphasis mine)
Who Feeds the GLP-1 News Cycles?
It’s clear that people holler crappy news from the rooftops, even without any proof that the “news” is true. Where do they get this information?
“Sources.”
Now, I have no proof whatsoever except what I have been told along the way as a care provider who talked to pharmaceutical representatives, working for an array of providers, and attending conferences for 30+ years. So even I am giving you heresay. Take it with a salt lick.
Let’s take a hypothetical news story not unlike the ones that keep coming out about GLP-1s maybe causing this, that, and the other thing.
There’s a news story that says, “GLP-1s might be causing people to uncontrollably jump up and down for ten minutes at a time.” Where in the world did they get that from?
Possibly:
- People, including doctors, nurses, therapists, etc., who think GLP-1s suck and people just need to shut their mouths and move their asses.
- Pharmacy competitors who want their foe to fail.
- Anyone who has a beef with someone in the pharmaceutical company, including people within.
- Crazy people who love to see themselves in print or on the TV. Or YouTube. Or TikTok. Or, or, or.
- People who jump to conclusions without any proof.
- Newswriters and journalists who see something negative and want their name in print or on TV or YouTube or TikTok, or, or, or.
- Advertising companies who pay for ads in movies, on television, on television shows, in print, or online (YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and the rest). They all have just paid for their product or statements about their product to be used so people will think it’s a great thing to own or consume.
- The list goes on and on.
Where Does the Story Begin?
Where did they get their “facts?” Like me, they scour the news stories, the medical journals, the medical bulletins, and places where inside information can be found. They pounce on something so obscure, like semaglutide possibly causing sudden blindness (Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy or NAION, aka an eye stroke) because three people in one week had that happen, among several others, but these three happened to be on a GLP-1s, so that must have caused it, right?
The article I got this information from is “Popular Prescription Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Uncommon Blinding Condition” and is a reputable source, Mass Eye and Ear.
The study, which was led by Joseph Rizzo, MD, director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service at Mass Eye and Ear and the Simmons Lessell Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, published July 3rd in JAMA Ophthalmology.
…there are so many caveats to it… ones even they allude to that are quite large and glaring… that quietly tell us we really do need to not freak out about this.
Correlation Does Not Mean Causation
The same piece says:
There are several limitations to the study. Mass Eye and Ear sees an unusually high number of people with rare eye diseases, the study population is majority white, and the number of NAION cases seen over the six-year study period is relatively small. With small case numbers, statistics can change quickly, Rizzo noted. The researchers also couldn’t determine if the patients actually took their medication or if they started and then stopped taking semaglutide at some point and how this might have impacted their risk.
Importantly, the study does not prove causality, and the researchers don’t know why or how this association exists, and why there was a difference reported in diabetic and overweight groups.
“Our findings should be viewed as being significant but tentative, as future studies are needed to examine these questions in a much larger and more diverse population,” Rizzo said.
(emphasis mine)
That Sounds So Serious!
While it bears examining, it isn’t a critical issue to worry about with GLP-1s. At least not yet. If I quit my medications… all of them… any time a news story or medical journal said there might be a side effect, I would not be on my psych meds, or stayed on my diabetes medications when I needed them, or Tylenol, or antibiotics, or, or, or. If that happened, I would be a manic lunatic who was over 400 pounds. Not a pretty picture.
The point is, we do not hear about new “possible” or even documented side effects of other new medications, and especially the information about older meds. In fact, information like the quoted material above comes out every day. We just don’t hear about it because it isn’t in the limelight like GLP-1s are.
Read With Discernment
When reading articles, reading or listening to the news, listening to podcasts, or watching people on social media, pick their content apart (not in their comments, please!) and ask yourself these questions:
- Check the sources. Are they in medical or scientific journals like the one above? Were they stated by anectdotal comments by someone who had a bad experience? Beware of taking anectdotal (things that happen to a person) information to heart. Even mine.
- Check to see if there are any “Disclosures” to report. Disclosures look like this: Disclosure: No conflicts of interest reported. Even the way the statement is worded is suspect. The word “reported” means someone could have a conflict of interest, but just didn’t say so. “Oops! I forgot I was being paid by Nestle to sell their new food line on that new website they have that doesn’t say Nestle until the very, very bottom of the page!” Yeah, right.
Disclosures in medical pieces are required to be noted, but as we see, they can be convieniently forgotton about. When it comes to medical or scientific disclosures, because these people are very visible, someone will find out and make noise about their association who they are connected to financially and their leaving that off their disclosure notice. But other, not so visible folks, can conveniently not say anything and not get caught.
Disclosing yourself means they need to tell their association to a company and if they are being paid for, “consulting” with them. Whether it is a pharmaceutical company or any other paid consulting situation. Consulting can be about any product or service.
Disclosures are even on YouTube when a YouTuber is sponsored or paid to hawk the company’s wares. The YouTubers can turn into Influencers who are highly paid to specifically say glowing things about who pays them or gives them products. These disclosures can demonstrate a serious conflict of interest when talking about important issues. Selling a thermos isn’t earth shattering, but selling a thermos that “will make sure you drink your water and become a Superhero” is false. Influencers tend to sell many products that make them their living. I look and think, “Can one person really use all that makeup/cold cream/cups/pairs of panties?” Apparently so.
There were no disclosures in the article about the blindness. This bodes well for their credibility.
- In the writing, speaking, and, headlines, look for key words like:
- Perhaps
- Maybe
- Might
- Possibly
- Probably
- Likely
- Apparently
- Supposedly
Notice how subtle the words in italics are and how they can make things sound as if they are concretely true or valid.
Another headline, “Study finds GLP-1 drugs may cut obesity-related cancers” sounds fantastic, but notice the word “MAY.” They are continuing their study, too. While we hope for that headline to be true and the previous one to not be true, neither are a sure bet until insurance pays for the GLP-1s for that specific reason or the pharmaceutical companies put warnings on their labels… and even then, it isn’t a sure thing.
Take a Deep Breath and Read Between the Lines
Also read exactly what they are saying. Not what they want you to think and believe.
I hope this helps to explain news stories a little bit better.
Now go get “News and the Culture of Lying: How Journalism Really Works” and let’s all learn about how the news affects our brains and adrenaline release.
Be sure to leave your comments and questions below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.