People pretending to be professionals online should they be prosecuted ?

[Nothappyatwork]

A woman locally to us has just been fined and given community service for pretending to be a medic at the scene of an accident where she cut off somebody’s clothes completely unnecessarily God knows what she was thinking but it got me thinking around people that give advice on Mumsnet for example you see it quite regularly, I am a lawyer, I am a social worker, I am a doctor and then they give advice that quite clearly demonstrates that actually they’re not. If they cause harm in people‘s lives should they be traced and prosecuted ?

No but anyone stupid enough to believe them should probably be banned from the internet.

It's all about personal responsibility.

Some people are so gullible online, it makes me fear what they teach their children when it comes to the internet.

She did what I mean she deserved it, threonine thing is different if somebody pretends to be...and gives bad advice then I think that's on the person who took said advice,

Of course not, people need to exercise the common sense to recognise that not everything they read on the Internet is real. And that their are weirdos everywhere.

If you were talking about a fake website advertising services from someone without these qualifications then that's different.

But Mrs 'i'm a lawyer' mumsnet poster, no, you can't prosecute people for being wankers.

Everyone knows you should not believe everything you read on social media though, its very different to claiming to be something you are not in real life and where its obvious you have no idea what you are doing like attending an accident.

*there

I saw the story about the woman, very strange.

If you belive that anyone online is who they say they are then you are stupid. Basic internet safety. If you are thick enough to take advice from a stranger with no way of establishing credentials then you can't blame them only yourself.

It depends what you mean by wrong advice

There was a thread here recently about thyroid stuff. And someone saying they were a GP was arguing with most of the posters who seemed to feel that GPs knew very little about this area, didnt make the right referrals,, didnt medicate when necessary etc etc

So its not usual that professional may not agree with the lay person, rightly or wrongly but it doesnt mean that they're not really a GP or that they are 'wrong' about their advice

Professionals disagree with each other and how to interpret their guidelines or legislation all the time. It wouldnt necessarily imply the person wasnt really a professional

This reminds me of that man who by mistake got onto BBC news when he had just turned up for an interview about something else he was interviewed on the news becuase they thought he was someone else and he played along because he thought it was part of his job interview!!!

YABU it’s annoying on here but it would prevent most discussions even happening and sometimes there is good advice.

Free advice from a random on the internet is a buyer beware situation

Some person deciding to commit assault in real life or someone committing financial fraud by deception, i have no problem with letting a jury decide

YANBU. There's a rise of SEND advocates, often parents who have been through the system themselves. Much cheaper than a solicitor or barrister.
I've heard so many accounts of parents engaging them and ended up with a total shitshow. And the behaviour when challenged on it disturbing.

It's a shame as dealing with SEND issues, particularly EHCP tribunals can be incredibly daunting, independent charities have limited resources so there's a gap there. It's just increasingly being filled with some quite unscrupulous people and it's currently an unregulated area of business.

@ArianaDumbledore

YANBU. There's a rise of SEND advocates, often parents who have been through the system themselves. Much cheaper than a solicitor or barrister. I've heard so many accounts of parents engaging them and ended up with a total shitshow. And the behaviour when challenged on it disturbing.

It's a shame as dealing with SEND issues, particularly EHCP tribunals can be incredibly daunting, independent charities have limited resources so there's a gap there. It's just increasingly being filled with some quite unscrupulous people and it's currently an unregulated area of business.

But adults know not everyone on the internet is who they claim to be. Of course an internet random banging away on their keyboard is going to be 'much cheaper than a solicitor or barrister'.

Unless they've set themselves up as a fraudulent business, with fake qualifications and are taking money under false pretences, some personal responsibility should be taken.

People shouldn't take advice from people who are online claiming to be anything.

For instance, a real doctor would only ever advise that you seek medical attention. They wouldn't diagnose you over the internet. A real social worker wouldn't be able to comment (apart from in a general way) without seeing all case files etc.

Anyone daft enough to follow the advice of a random person is insane.

@Pinkbonbon

Of course not, people need to exercise the common sense to recognise that not everything they read on the Internet is real. And that their are weirdos everywhere.

If you were talking about a fake website advertising services from someone without these qualifications then that's different.

But Mrs 'i'm a lawyer' mumsnet poster, no, you can't prosecute people for being wankers.

I think this^^

They're clearly wankers, but that isn't an offence. I should know; I'm a high court judge (just joking - before you try to have me arrested )

The laws about impersonating a police officer and some other people probably do need to be reviewed and updated, so your point is valid. Law seems in general to me to be analogue in a digital age.

Recent thread with an OP whose DH is having a medical emergency, I felt bad for her because so much differing advice on thread from people who sound authoritative (and some say they are HCPs) but no way for OP to know who actually knows what they're talking about (and let's face it even people with professional expertise can be wrong about a situation, especially if they don't know all the facts as is often the case with Mumsnet threads).

So I do think people online should certainly be v careful about giving advice/opinion online, even in cases where it is legitimately their field of expertise, because there's so much you don't/can't know about the situation if you're not actually personally involved.

Idk about prosecution though. In an IRL situation like the one OP describes, someone's life could be put at risk if they're being treated by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Online I think people just have to exercise extreme caution about who they listen to/take advice from.

There's a difference between making shit up on an anonymous forum and pretending to be an official in real life, though.

Of course someone who intervenes in real life should be prosecuted, but writing nonsense online is just that - nonsense. Not believing people online is internet safety 101.

@ZippeeDeeDoohDah

People shouldn't take advice from people who are online claiming to be anything.

For instance, a real doctor would only ever advise that you seek medical attention. They wouldn't diagnose you over the internet. A real social worker wouldn't be able to comment (apart from in a general way) without seeing all case files etc.

Anyone daft enough to follow the advice of a random person is insane.

This - I'm a dog trainer which is not really comparable except in the sense that when you tell people your job, they immediately ask your advice about their neighbours cousins dog who does this weird thing and how can they fix it. I would never give advice to someone whose dog I hadn't personally seen. I never give advice online except for "consult a dog trainer/behaviourist, here's how to find a reputable one in your area". And most especially I would never give advice on a serious and complex issue like aggression without having seen and assessed the dog myself. And this is a much less life and death profession than being a doctor etc, so it blows my mind when I see people professing to be HCPs giving detailed advice or even diagnoses online based on a couple of paragraphs OP has written which may not even be accurate or the whole story. It seems so unprofessional to me, and deeply unethical even because bad advice followed could be disastrous.

If you have time to come on MN or other anonymous platforms you also have time to check out trusted websites. Either use instead or as a check on what what posters are suggesting - gov.uk nhs website, Sendiass, citizen’s advice are all good places to look. For specific issues see if there is a charity with information or helpline- asthma, diabetes etc ageuk

VyeBrator
The type of advocates I'm talking about have built up impressive reputations on social media, that aren't entirely deserved.

Of course adults have to take responsibility, but it can be a desperate and isolating time when you have an aggressive LA who has engaged a barrister against you. Even if entitled to Legal Aid, it's increasingly difficult to get the case taken on due to capacity issues.

These advocates appear safe because they've usually been through it as parents. It's just not actually enough to properly advise, from what I've seen recently.

@SevenWaystoLeave

Recent thread with an OP whose DH is having a medical emergency, I felt bad for her because so much differing advice on thread from people who sound authoritative (and some say they are HCPs) but no way for OP to know who actually knows what they're talking about (and let's face it even people with professional expertise can be wrong about a situation, especially if they don't know all the facts as is often the case with Mumsnet threads).

So I do think people online should certainly be v careful about giving advice/opinion online, even in cases where it is legitimately their field of expertise, because there's so much you don't/can't know about the situation if you're not actually personally involved.

Idk about prosecution though. In an IRL situation like the one OP describes, someone's life could be put at risk if they're being treated by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Online I think people just have to exercise extreme caution about who they listen to/take advice from.

I saw that one, all these people saying she should demand to speak to this person and that person, most of whom were not like to be 'on call' or available to speak to her in any case. I dont know how it turned out in the end but a lot of people seem to have fanciful ideas about how to engage professionals or authority

The amount of times on here Ive read that someone should report something to the police when its not even a crime or its a civil matter, theres advice on another thread that the OP should change the locks to her jointly owned house and not let her husband in, talk about bad advice!

People are very odd and think they are impressing others with their lies and dishonesty, they are dangerous and insecure.

I'm reminded of 'Dr' Gillian McKeith.
Better not say any more.

Ha. Yes, I work in a field that is of perennial interest on MM. and would be able to weigh in with technical knowledge. I don’t though.

Because I know enough that the situation always is way more nuanced than than it appears. The most I would ever do is (name change and) advise them to seek expert real world advice.

I think its 2 different situations. Saying you are a doctor to someone having an emergency and making them think you are administering first aid is completely different to pretending online.

If you have a medical issue consult someone you know to be a doctor. There's definitely people here who pretend to be in jobs they aren't. There's a few 'Heads of HR' that post that don't know shit. Like the difference between redundancy and raising a grievance and getting a payout.

But they are challenged because there's many people posting. And unless you can verify someone you shouldn't listen to them. Most people are not posting in a dire emergency looking for advice. They have time to consult someone actually trained.

If you are in a dire medical emergency and posting online, there's already serious issues with your judgement tbh.