With the ever-increasing volume of textual, news, educational, and journalistic content about various areas of health and medicine in Iran, the need for an organization dedicated to responding to, verifying, and evaluating health-related claims has become increasingly evident. In this regard, and with the goal of promoting evidence-based health literacy and preventing the spread of misinformation in the health field, Cochrane Iran has been supporting the “Factname Salamat Online Magazine” since May 2024. This collaboration aims to strengthen the translation and dissemination of knowledge from Cochrane reviews for the public, to enhance public familiarity with Cochrane, especially Cochrane Iran, and apply Cochrane-derived topics for public education. It has played a significant role in improving society’s access to trustworthy scientific information.
The Factname Salamat Online Magazine seeks to create a concise, creative, and clear format for addressing and responding to claims and misconceptions circulating in social media and public health spaces. To achieve this, health-related claims and rumors are monitored continuously and in real time; then, based on available resources, primarily Cochrane evidence, an appropriate response is prepared promptly and published through specific outputs on the websites and social media platforms of Factname Salamat and Cochrane Iran.
Project Achievements
According to the latest six-month report from the Factname Salamat team, the magazine has shown remarkable performance, achieving notable quantitative and qualitative growth compared to its first six months of activity. The main achievements of this collaboration include:
Growth in website visits from 6,400 in the first six months more than 21,000 monthly visits in the latest period
Increase in the average Instagram content views from 218,000 to over 1.8 million views
Production of over 550 scientific and educational pieces of content covering topics such as traditional medicine, vaccination, communicable and non-communicable diseases, lifestyle, and the principles of knowledge translation
A 61% increase in total website content and a 45.5% increase in total content produced on Telegram and Instagram
Expanded multimedia content creation, including 36 videos, 22 podcasts, and dozens of educational infographics
Content utilized by 13 Telegram and Instagram channels with over 10,000 followers
Monthly educational workshops for the public and health professionals to teach principles of critical appraisal and evidence-based decision-making
Collaboration and scientific exchange with over 30 scientific societies, medical universities, and media organizations active in the health field
Factname Salamat aims to base a significant portion of its content on Cochrane evidence to ensure that the information presented to audiences is accurate, scientific, and unbiased. Supported by Cochrane Iran, the magazine strives to deliver more systematic, precise, high-quality, and impactful work in knowledge translation and evidence-based responses to health claims.
Future Plans
Continuing along this path, and with support from the Cochrane Iran, Factname Salamat plans to:
Launch an AI- driven system to provide rapid, evidence-informed responses to health rumors and public claims
Ensure that 40–60% of all published content is grounded in Cochrane evidence
Publish at least 10 articles introducing Cochrane and its evidence base to the Factname’s audience
Propose research topics emerging from Factname discussion to Cochrane leadership for consideration
The Cochrane Iran commends the continued efforts of the Factname Salamat team to expand public access to scientific evidence and regards the continuation of this collaboration an important step toward strengthening evidence-based decision-making across Iranian society.