Health Information Quality in Google News Coverage of GLP-1 Medications: A Content Analysis

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have received extensive coverage in online news, often emphasizing weight loss, social media influence, and rising consumer demand. This study examined whether the structure and depth of reporting are associated with the inclusion of clinically relevant information in GLP-1–related news. Specifically, we assessed (1) whether cumulative reporting depth predicts the presence of clinical details and (2) how individual reporting domains relate to clinical information. This cross-sectional content analysis included the first 100 English-language GLP-1–related news articles retrieved from Google News. Articles were coded using a structured codebook capturing domains of health information quality, including accuracy/evidence, safety scope, source attribution, affordability, access, economic framing, and framing style. The primary outcome was the presence of clinical details, defined as a binary indicator of whether medically relevant information was included. A composite depth score (range 0–5) was constructed by summing five core reporting domains. Firth penalized logistic regression was used to estimate associations. Greater reporting depth was significantly associated with inclusion of clinical details. Each additional domain corresponded to nearly a fivefold increase in the odds of including medically relevant information (OR = 4.98; 95% CI: 1.55–16.00; p = 0.007). Domain-specific analyses showed that emphasis on factual accuracy and identifiable sources had the strongest associations. Coverage focused on affordability, access, or economic framing showed weaker relationships. Overall, more structured, evidence-based reporting was linked to higher inclusion of clinically meaningful information, suggesting that improving news quality may enhance public health literacy.