The COVID-19 Resource Centre, hosted by Elsevier, provides free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus. Elsevier grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research available in PubMed Central and other public repositories, with unrestricted access for research reuse and analysis, provided that the original source is acknowledged. Yuxi Wang, Martin McKee, Aleksandra Torbica, David Stuckler This systematic literature review examines the spread of health-related misinformation on social media. The review searches multiple databases for articles published between 2012 and 2018, focusing on topics such as vaccination, Ebola, Zika virus, nutrition, cancer, and smoking. The review finds an increasing trend in published articles on health-related misinformation and its propagation through social media. Misinformation is often more popular than accurate information and can delay or prevent effective care. The review identifies key features of misinformation, including its narrative style and the role of individuals with no official affiliations. Theoretical frameworks from psychology and network science are used to understand the spread of misinformation, with a focus on individual-level cognitive responses and societal mechanisms. The review highlights the need for interdisciplinary research and interventions to counter the spread of misinformation, particularly targeting susceptible populations and improving critical thinking and media literacy.The COVID-19 Resource Centre, hosted by Elsevier, provides free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus. Elsevier grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research available in PubMed Central and other public repositories, with unrestricted access for research reuse and analysis, provided that the original source is acknowledged. Yuxi Wang, Martin McKee, Aleksandra Torbica, David Stuckler This systematic literature review examines the spread of health-related misinformation on social media. The review searches multiple databases for articles published between 2012 and 2018, focusing on topics such as vaccination, Ebola, Zika virus, nutrition, cancer, and smoking. The review finds an increasing trend in published articles on health-related misinformation and its propagation through social media. Misinformation is often more popular than accurate information and can delay or prevent effective care. The review identifies key features of misinformation, including its narrative style and the role of individuals with no official affiliations. Theoretical frameworks from psychology and network science are used to understand the spread of misinformation, with a focus on individual-level cognitive responses and societal mechanisms. The review highlights the need for interdisciplinary research and interventions to counter the spread of misinformation, particularly targeting susceptible populations and improving critical thinking and media literacy.