Our mission is to bring the most unbiased, honest, accurate and relevant information related to health for people living in India.
The content is reviewed by medical professionals and is updated in accordance with the latest research and findings in medical fields.
About Us
THIP Media (an initiative by Thip Healthtech Pvt Ltd) is India’s first medical professionals verified health content website. We strive daily to be the most practical and relevant content source for health and cure.
THIP Media publishes content around 3 major verticals –
1) Q&A against major lifestyle diseases
2) Information about Indian diet and nutrition
3) Fact Checking fake medical news and opinion
Every Question is answered by a relevant medical professional, every information about diet and nutrition is vetted by a nutritionist/dietitian, every fact check is done by certified fact check experts and cross-checked by medical professionals.
THIP maintains a strong internal medical advisory board, medical review board and employs certified professional fact checkers. The video presenters at THIP are also junior medical professionals who work under the guidance (and approved scripts) of the seniors in the advisory board.
Our Fact Check Methodology
India has 1.3 billion people, 29 states, seven union territories, 1652 spoken languages, at least nine recognized religions and a miserable patient to doctor ratio of 1:1800. Medical misinformation in such a diverse society is often triggered by multiple reasons.
Medical misinformation can be life threatening. Our team aspires to break every misinformation and fake claims we can trace, irrespective of their virality. It is necessary to save every single life possible from falling prey to medically fake information.
1. SELECTING A STORY FOR FACT CHECK
THIP works on breaking medical misinformation occurring due to the following reasons:
- Misinformation due to lack of medical help and age old cultural superstition
- Misinformation due to rumors spreads through social media and other mediums using internet (Facebook pages and messaging apps like WhatsApp)
- Misinformation due to lack of updated knowledge
THIP Medical Advisory Team constantly communicates with patients across multiple geographies and identifies superstitions plaguing the rural, underprivileged sections of the society. THIP Fact Check Team tracks mainstream and social media for possibly dubious information, propaganda and suspiciously viral posts. Since medical misinformation has a potential to exist in the underbelly of the society and yet not be viral, we also invite our readers to raise their doubts to us.
2. RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION
There are different methodologies adopted for different stories but we try to maintain a standard operating procedure for the stories we identify. We break down suspicious content into two types –
a) News or claims of new invention, miracle, cure
b) Opinion related to diet, medicinal value of substances, procedures
Once material for a fact check is decided upon, our fact check team does a thorough secondary research on the claim or opinion. At the onset, we try identifying the source of the generating information including location related to the news or opinion. This help us understand the bias (eg. local superstition) behind the information and investigate further.
In case of a news, our Fact Check Team performs fact check by reaching out to the person or the entity and seek evidence to support the claim. We first seek the claimant’s reaction by all possible means. Our Fact Check Team also reaches out to Block Medical Officers (appointed by Govt. of India) to understand if the news of invention has been verified by the Govt officials at local level.
For opinion pieces, we refer to any research or authentic sources published regarding the matter.
Once the Fact Check Team verifies the source and basic authenticity of the material, it is then further passed on to be reviewed by a certified medical professional (Medical Review Team) from the relevant genres. Most materials on THIP are cross verified with comments from the members in the Medical Review Team.
If required, Fact Check Team seeks further opinion and comment on the matter from external medical professionals or people associated with medical research in the relevant domain.
The investigation (fact check) is done using Google Reverse Image Search, InVid, Stalkscan, Foller.me, Whois and similar other tools. We provide screenshots and hyperlinks where possible within our stories pointing to the source of information and evidence used to reach a conclusion so that readers can themselves track authenticity.
3. REPORT WRITING AND REVIEW
We try to present verified facts in a simple, precise and question-answer format. We try to maintain a similar format for all our fact check content pieces for easier readability. Our Fact Check Team refrain from general editorial opinion outside what the fact suggests and leave the medical opinion to medical experts in our Medical Review Team, Medical Advisory Team and external medical experts.
4. PUBLISHING AND FEEDBACK
After publication of a fact checked report, we send it across to medical professionals across the world through our newsletter. We also closely monitor feedback from our audiences through comments on social media. Because of the nature of the content, any correction request is sought only through email at [email protected] along with supporting research documents, if possible. If an error is brought to our notice, we examine it thoroughly and, if necessary, effect an update or correction in accordance with our correction policy.
Updation Policy
Medical Science is a constantly changing field with researches happening across multiple genres in multiple locations. Hence we accept that every piece of information is subject to change. We make active efforts to periodically review every piece of information and keep them updated. Last update date is mentioned on every article.
Correction Policy
While we make all the efforts to keep our content relevant and up to date, we value feedback and encourage readers to send request for corrections.
We also proactively send our content out to doctors and medical professionals across the world through our regular newsletters and seek their suggestions and rectifications.
Because of the nature of the content, any correction request is sought only through email at [email protected] along with supporting research documents, if possible.
In case we receive any complaint regarding the inaccuracy of our content, we immediately put it on hold and determine the facts. Once the facts have been examined, we take a considered decision and appropriately respond to the feedback. Depending on the authenticity and magnitude of the mistake/error, we remove/edit the published information or duly inform the reader in case the original content does not qualify as a mistake and our bases for arriving at such a decision.
Depending on the critical nature of the correction request, we take 3 to 7 days to correct the mistake, if any. We also put the updated date in the content page whenever we post an update. Post that we appropriately respond to the feedback.
Corrections in typographical errors, misspellings, grammatical errors or minor changes which are not considered significant by editors are not usually noted.
Non-Partisanship Policy & No Influences Policy
THIP answers medical queries and fact checks news and claims related to lifestyle diseases and rebuts fake medical claims on internet, on social media. THIP does not report news, least political, not even medical. Any content, answer and fact check is done by fact checking experts and certified medical professionals. And each piece of content goes through the review desk of more than one person to remove bias, if any.
No content on THIP advocates any company, person, treatment methodology or medicine brand. We stand by our ethical stand of ‘No Influences Policy’ which ensures that no content is influenced by any external bias.
THIP does not report on political matters or advocates political opinion on its platform and strongly prohibits any employee working in THIP to engage in partisan political activity.
However, we recognize THIP employees may have political opinion of their own. THIP employees, consultants and members of the medical review board may engage in personal political activity, such as attending political rallies, so long as they do not use their THIP affiliation.
If any of the above mentioned members provide exclusive support to a campaign, they must do so in your personal capacity and are required to:
- Notify the company (THIP Healthtech Pvt Ltd.);
- Not use THIP’s affiliation;
- Not use their work at THIP to represent or counsel candidates or officials at public events or in the media.
- Click here to read our Director’s letter declaring our non-partisanship
