The widespread dissemination of inaccurate, overstated or incomplete science on social media fuels pseudoscience, conspiracy theories and distrust in science itself. Researchers can help to prevent poor-quality science from influencing public opinion, policymaking and research-funding decisions by carefully vetting content to ensure that the information is trustworthy before sharing it (see also P. Williamson Nature 540, 171; 2016).

Fake scientific news is often generated by the misguided transformation of peer-reviewed papers into headline-grabbing stories. Social-media metrics are based on the number of followers and 'likes', not on quality. We therefore caution against using such alternative metrics (altmetrics) in funding applications (Nature 516, 147; 2014) and for career advancement (R. Kwok Nature 500, 491–493; 2013), which could encourage researchers to share erroneous hyperbolized content.

By using social media to swiftly identify sensationalism, evaluate the quality of the original source and report inaccuracies in headlines and story content, scientists can help to counter the dangerous spread of misinformation.