Examining Scleritis Content on the Social Media App ‘TikTok’: A Comprehensive Analysis of Quality, Engagement, and Misinformation

Abstract

Purpose: TikTok has emerged as one of the most popular video-based social media platforms with over 1 billion active users. It has also become a popular source for medical information, posing safety concerns about potentially misleading or inaccurate content. This study explored scleritis-related content on TikTok to evaluate content quality, engagement metrics, and misinformation. Methods: Using TikTok’s search function, videos tagged with ‘scleritis,’ ‘anterior scleritis,’ and ‘posterior scleritis’ were analyzed. Videos were categorized by creator type, engagement (views, likes, comments, shares), and content type (informative, misinformation, personal experience, diagnosis, miscellaneous). The Patient Education Materials and Assessment Tool - Audiovisual (PEMAT-AV) assessed understandability and actionability, focusing on word choice, organization, visual aids, and actionable advice. Results: A total of 69 videos were analyzed; most were created by patients (88.4%, n = 61). Average engagement per video was 29 001 views, 403 likes, 24 comments, and 6 shares. While 84.1% (n=58) were informative, 10.1% (n = 7) contained misinformation. The mean PEMAT understandability score was 37.0%, and actionability was 6.0%, indicating poor educational quality. Conclusion: Most scleritis-related TikToks are from non-medical professionals with 10.1% containing misinformation. Content demonstrated low understandability and actionability. Physician-created videos are needed to improve scleritis-related medical information on TikTok and ensure more accurate, accessible, and actionable content for users seeking reliable health information.