# An independent hype index grading cancer press releases and news stories

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-moon-hype-index/  
OnCo record `idea-moon-hype-index` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Rate every cancer breakthrough story and press release for spin, using set criteria, and publish the scores so journalists, institutions and readers can see who overstates.

## Summary

Spin in abstracts and press releases is documented and propagates into news coverage and patient expectations; HealthNewsReview.org showed independent grading is feasible before it closed for lack of funding. The proposal is a sustainably funded service that grades press releases from journals, institutions and companies on a published rubric (absolute versus relative numbers, harms, cost, stage of evidence, independent comment), publishes an institution-level hype index, and provides a plain-language re-statement of each finding.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Hypothesis: Published hype scores reduce spin in subsequent press releases from graded institutions and reduce exaggerated claims in downstream news coverage.
- Rationale: Reputational feedback changes institutional behaviour; the rubric exists and the grading cost is low.
- Proposed test: Grade all cancer press releases from the top 50 institutions for a year and publish; compare spin metrics in year two against ungraded institutions.
- Maturity: early-clinical
- Actor: research

## Sources

- Bottleneck evidence (Misinformation and unproven therapies): Johnson et al., Cancer misinformation and harmful information on Facebook and other social media (JNCI 2022): https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djab141

## Connected records

- bottlenecks: [Incentives reward me-too drugs and marginal gains](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-incentive-misalignment/), [Misinformation and unproven therapies](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-misinformation/)
- key papers: [Cancer Misinformation and Harmful Information on Facebook and Other Social Media: A Brief Report](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-johnson-j-natl-cancer-inst/)

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