BBC Dragons’ Den’s Steven Bartlett blasted for sharing harmful health misinformation on podcast: ‘Imperils our health’
Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett’s popular Diary of CEO podcast is reportedly spreading harmful health misinformation that could put patients at risk, a BBC investigation has revealed.
The probe found an average of 14 harmful health claims per episode that contradicted extensive scientific evidence.
Recent claims from guests included assertions that cancer could be treated with a keto diet rather than proven medical treatments.
The investigation examined 15 health-related episodes broadcast between April and November this year, with experts warning that failing to challenge disproven claims creates dangerous distrust in conventional medicine.
The podcast, which launched in 2017 focusing on entrepreneurship, has increasingly shifted towards health content in the past 18 months, with guests presented as leading experts in their fields receiving little challenge from Bartlett.
In a July episode, Dr Aseem Malhotra claimed “the Covid vaccine was a net negative for society”, despite World Health Organization analysis showing vaccines saved many lives during the pandemic.
Dr Malhotra told the BBC he “completely accept[s] that there are still some people who disagree with [his views]” but maintained they had not been debunked.
Cancer researcher Dr Thomas Seyfried appeared in October promoting the ketogenic diet as a cancer treatment, while comparing modern cancer treatments to “medieval cures”.
He claimed radiotherapy and chemotherapy only improved patients’ lifespans by one to two months.
These claims starkly contrast with Cancer Research UK statistics showing cancer survival has doubled in the past 50 years, while US cancer death rates have declined 33% since 1990.
Dr Seyfried told the BBC he “stands by the statements that he made in the interview”.
Professor David Grimes from Trinity College Dublin warned that while podcasters may claim they are sharing information, they are actually spreading harmful misinformation.
“That’s a very different and not empowering thing. It actually imperils all our health,” he said.
Professor Heidi Larson, an expert in public confidence in healthcare, explained that while these solutions appear appealing to listeners, the guests “are way overstretching”.
“It sends people away from evidence-based medicine. They stop doing things that might have some side effects, even though it could save their life,” she cautioned.
Prof Grimes specifically warned against restricting diet during cancer treatment, stating patients “could potentially and very realistically get very, very, sick and have a much worse health outcome than if you followed recommended advice from your oncologists”.
The podcast’s shift towards health content has coincided with significant audience growth on YouTube, where Bartlett’s channel has seven million subscribers.
Monthly views have jumped from nine million to 15 million since the content pivot last year.
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The podcast has become extremely lucrative, with Bartlett telling The Times in April he expected it to make £20million this year, primarily from advertising revenue.
Cécile Simmons, from disinformation research think tank Institute of Strategic Dialogue, suggests health content drives engagement.
“Health-related clickbait content with scary titles does really well online with the algorithm amplifying that,” she said.
The BBC investigation reviewed 23 health-related episodes released between April and November, with 15 containing potentially harmful claims, which were fact-checked by four medical experts, including an NHS diabetes adviser and a surgeon.
Flight Studio, Bartlett’s production company, defended the podcast as “an open-minded, long-form conversation… with individuals identified for their distinguished and eminent career and/or consequential life experience.”
The company said they heard various voices, “not just those Steven and the DOAC team necessarily agree with,” and noted the BBC investigation had reviewed only a “limited proportion of guests”.