The waiting room outside the hepatology clinic at Rajagiri Hospital in Kochi, India, is a space suspended between hope and despair for patients with advanced liver disease. Inside, Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, who has garnered a significant online following, approaches patient care with a measured and compassionate demeanor that contrasts sharply with his online persona.
Philips is a polarizing figure in India, admired by some as a staunch advocate for evidence-based medicine and criticized by others as an attention-seeking provocateur. On the social media platform X, where he has over 300,000 followers, he has publicly denounced homeopathy as "false medicine" and characterized alternative medicine practitioners as "quacks." His online rhetoric has sometimes been described as rude, leading to clashes with critics, including celebrities.
The Indian government's Ayush Ministry, which oversees traditional medicine, has held formal committee meetings to discuss his public statements. Philips has also faced legal challenges, with 16 cases filed against him over the past six years, some of which remain ongoing. A police inspector once traveled for two days by train to question him about a social media post.
However, those who interact with him in person, including long-term patients, colleagues, and other doctors, often describe him as polite, unassuming, and courteous. During interviews, Philips presents as soft-spoken and measured.
Philips acknowledges his online persona is a deliberate strategy. "Sometimes you must make loud noises to be heard," he stated. "I specially go after trolls, so they cannot deviate the attention from the message I am trying to give. If people think I'm rude or ill-tempered, even though it isn't true, I'm willing to pay that price." He asserts that despite the controversies, the information he provides remains valid.
