Health and wellness influencers are most likely to pitch products in topics where posts are also less likely to carry an outside citation or a warning about harm, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of more than half a million social media posts.
The report examined 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts from 6,334 health and wellness influencers, each with at least 100,000 followers on one platform, published between February and April 2026. Pew used automated transcription and analysis of available audio, on-screen text, and captions to classify posts, then validated the classifications against human-coded samples.
Promotion Is Nearly Universal
Some 38% of all posts disclose a sponsorship or encourage the audience to use a product, service, or subscription, and 92% of influencers do this at least occasionally. About a third include a promotional appeal in more than half of their posts.
That rate climbs sharply around specific topics. Posts about non-prescription medications and supplements carry a promotion 66% of the time, the highest of any category Pew measured. Men’s health and personal appearance each follow at 56%, with nutrition and longevity tied at 52%. By influencer background, dietitians and nutritionists are most likely to promote in a majority of their posts, at 43%, followed by complementary, alternative, and integrative health professionals at 41%. Activists promote the least, at 19%.
Sourcing and Warnings Run the Opposite Direction
Across all posts, just 9% cite an outside source, such as a study, an expert, or a government agency, while making a health claim, and 11% warn of a specific harm. The two behaviors travel together: roughly four in ten posts that cite a source also carry a warning. But both cluster away from the topics most tied to promotion. Health policy, just 2% of all posts, cites an outside source 50% of the time and warns of harm in 46% of posts. Fitness, the single most common topic at 25% of all posts, warns of harm in only 8%.
Citation and warning rates also vary by influencer background. Influencers who describe themselves as researchers cite an outside source in 30% of their posts, by far the highest share of any background Pew tracked. Complementary and alternative health professionals warn of harm in 22% of posts, researchers in 21%, and conventional medical professionals in 20%. Influencers with no stated credentials, along with those who identify as coaches or athletes, cite a source or warn of harm in 7% or fewer of their posts.
Medical Topics Still Skew Toward Credentialed Voices
Health professionals also dominate the medical-topic conversation more broadly. Conventional medicine influencers discuss medical conditions in 30% of their posts and treatments requiring a prescription or a doctor’s involvement in 38%. Complementary and alternative health influencers mention medical conditions in 35% of posts. Influencers who list no credentials rarely venture into medical territory, but not entirely: about one in ten of their posts still mention a medical condition.
The Underlying Content Still Skews Lifestyle
Just over half of all posts (54%) mention healthy living topics such as fitness, nutrition and habit-building, while 34% touch a medical topic like a condition, a treatment or mental health. Three in ten posts do not mention health or wellness at all. Among posts naming a specific medical condition, cancer is the most common at 8.5%, followed by anxiety and depression at 7.5% and diabetes or prediabetes at 7.2%.
Methodology: Pew’s sample included influencers with at least 100,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube who primarily post in English, address a U.S. audience, and published health or wellness content during the study period. Researchers validated the post-classification process using human-coded samples and used OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 Mini model to identify the specific medical conditions mentioned in posts already flagged as discussing a medical condition.
Image source: Pew Research Center The full report is availablehere
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Health and wellness influencers are most likely to pitch products in topics where posts are also less likely to carry an outside citation or a warning about harm, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of more than half a million social media posts.
The report examined 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts from 6,334 health and wellness influencers, each with at least 100,000 followers on one platform, published between February and April 2026. Pew used automated transcription and analysis of available audio, on-screen text, and captions to classify posts, then validated the classifications against human-coded samples.
Promotion Is Nearly Universal
Some 38% of all posts disclose a sponsorship or encourage the audience to use a product, service, or subscription, and 92% of influencers do this at least occasionally. About a third include a promotional appeal in more than half of their posts.
That rate climbs sharply around specific topics. Posts about non-prescription medications and supplements carry a promotion 66% of the time, the highest of any category Pew measured. Men’s health and personal appearance each follow at 56%, with nutrition and longevity tied at 52%. By influencer background, dietitians and nutritionists are most likely to promote in a majority of their posts, at 43%, followed by complementary, alternative, and integrative health professionals at 41%. Activists promote the least, at 19%.
Sourcing and Warnings Run the Opposite Direction
Across all posts, just 9% cite an outside source, such as a study, an expert, or a government agency, while making a health claim, and 11% warn of a specific harm. The two behaviors travel together: roughly four in ten posts that cite a source also carry a warning. But both cluster away from the topics most tied to promotion. Health policy, just 2% of all posts, cites an outside source 50% of the time and warns of harm in 46% of posts. Fitness, the single most common topic at 25% of all posts, warns of harm in only 8%.
Citation and warning rates also vary by influencer background. Influencers who describe themselves as researchers cite an outside source in 30% of their posts, by far the highest share of any background Pew tracked. Complementary and alternative health professionals warn of harm in 22% of posts, researchers in 21%, and conventional medical professionals in 20%. Influencers with no stated credentials, along with those who identify as coaches or athletes, cite a source or warn of harm in 7% or fewer of their posts.
Medical Topics Still Skew Toward Credentialed Voices
Health professionals also dominate the medical-topic conversation more broadly. Conventional medicine influencers discuss medical conditions in 30% of their posts and treatments requiring a prescription or a doctor’s involvement in 38%. Complementary and alternative health influencers mention medical conditions in 35% of posts. Influencers who list no credentials rarely venture into medical territory, but not entirely: about one in ten of their posts still mention a medical condition.
The Underlying Content Still Skews Lifestyle
Just over half of all posts (54%) mention healthy living topics such as fitness, nutrition and habit-building, while 34% touch a medical topic like a condition, a treatment or mental health. Three in ten posts do not mention health or wellness at all. Among posts naming a specific medical condition, cancer is the most common at 8.5%, followed by anxiety and depression at 7.5% and diabetes or prediabetes at 7.2%.
Methodology: Pew’s sample included influencers with at least 100,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube who primarily post in English, address a U.S. audience, and published health or wellness content during the study period. Researchers validated the post-classification process using human-coded samples and used OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 Mini model to identify the specific medical conditions mentioned in posts already flagged as discussing a medical condition.
Image source: Pew Research Center
The full report is available here
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