| Marlana is presenting the findings of The Nutrition Misinformation in the Digital Age report that analysed over one million Instagram posts, identifying high-impact “super-spreaders” responsible for much of the platform’s misleading nutrition content. The study found that online claims consistently conflicted with established evidence on balanced diets, saturated fat, and food safety. The report identifies different personas and delves into the use of different emotional and communication tactics such as fearmongering, joy-mongering and subtle sprinkling of misinformation into lifestyle content that each of them typically use. Most influencers lacked relevant nutrition qualifications and monetised their claims through businesses, affiliate links, sponsorships or expensive coaching. The report highlights the need for stronger digital literacy and more effective, evidence-based public health communication. |
