{"id":832325,"date":"2025-03-07T13:11:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T19:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/07\/misinformation-in-fb-how-industry-is-fighting-back\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T13:11:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T19:11:57","slug":"misinformation-in-fb-how-industry-is-fighting-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/07\/misinformation-in-fb-how-industry-is-fighting-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Misinformation in F&B: How industry is fighting back"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Misinformation is rife in food and beverage, with inaccurate claims about ingredients, products and production processes, made every single day. And not only can these claims be damaging to the industry, they can also be dangerous to consumers. <\/p>\n

\u201cMisinformation within this sector is pervasive, with significant consequences for public health and market dynamics,\u201d says Aditi Pangotra, research analyst in policy and advocacy for CyberPeace.<\/p>\n

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These claims aren\u2019t just frustrating they are alarming for the public<\/p>\n

Lucy Hopkins-Parkinson, Oatly<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Furthermore, they\u2019re causing genuine fears amongst consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese claims aren\u2019t just frustrating, they are alarming for the public,\u201d says Lucy Hopkins-Parkinson, vice president of communications for plant-based milk brand, Oatly.<\/p>\n

In fact, such is the scale of the problem, brands are now being advised to assemble a crisis team ready to handle misinformation if and when it arises.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery organisation should have a robust crisis communications plan in place,\u201d says Simon Reynolds, content marketing manager for Cision. <\/p>\n

So, what is the industry doing to fight back against misinformation and what more can be done to stop the spread?<\/p>\n

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Misinformation vs Disinformation<\/h3>\n
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What is misinformation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Misinformation is false or inaccurate information, which is unintentionally spread.<\/p>\n

What is disinformation?
<\/strong>Disinformation refers to false or inaccurate information, which is intentionally spread, with the purpose of deceiving or manipulating others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How is misinformation spread in the food and beverage industry?<\/h2>\n

\u201cMisinformation starts with disinformation,\u201d says Robbie Lockie, CEO of The Freedom Food Alliance.<\/p>\n

Disinformation refers to false or inaccurate information, which is intentionally spread, with the purpose of deceiving or manipulating others. However, once this disinformation spreads and becomes misinformation, the intention is far less malevolent though the results can be equally damaging.<\/p>\n

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Rage bait drives engagement with clicks, comments and shares<\/p>\n

Robbie Lockie, The Freedom Food Alliance<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

The problem faced by food and beverage is that the truth is struggling to be heard, particularly as the misinformation is often far more dramatic and so gains attention far quicker.<\/p>\n

\u201cRage bait drives engagement with clicks, comments and shares,\u201d says The Freedom Food Alliance\u2019s Lockie.<\/p>\n

This leads to the fast spread of misinformation across the globe. <\/p>\n

\u201cConflicting news spreads six times faster,\u201d says Rhiannon Lambert, nutritionist and founder of Rhitrition Clinic.<\/p>\n

But the problem doesn\u2019t just lie in fighting back against misinformation. There\u2019s also the simple issue of consumers not recognising certain ingredients and becoming concerned about what they are and their potential health impacts.<\/p>\n

\u201cA product might have added vitamin C, that might be listed as ascorbic acid, which is the chemical name, and that causes confusion,\u201d says Kaitlin Colucci, founder of The Mission Dietitian.<\/p>\n

So, what is the industry doing to fight back against misinformation?<\/p>\n

Also read \u2192 <\/span>Are consumers really being \u201cunknowingly poisoned\u201d by seed oils?<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Woman<\/picture><\/div>
Plant-based milks have fallen victim to what it calls misinformation, but the sector is fighting back (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the industry doing to fight back against misinformation?<\/h2>\n

Education education education.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that this is the solution to the barrage of misinformation faced by food and beverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get education out there, because education is power,\u201d says Rhitrition Clinic\u2019s Lambert.<\/p>\n

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As an industry we\u2019ve probably been a little bit quiet<\/p>\n

Caroline Orfila Jenkins, Oatly<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

But in order to be heard, the industry needs to be as loud as the voices spreading the misinformation. Easier said than done.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an industry we\u2019ve probably been a little bit quiet,\u201d says Caroline Orfila Jenkins, vice president of science and technology at Oatly. \u201cThe industry is very tightly regulated about what it can say.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how is the industry getting its message out there?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking to, and we want to talk more to, journalists and press to help us get our message across,\u201d says Orfila Jenkins.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more the scale of the problem is increasingly encouraging brands to stand their ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re brave and we\u2019re standing up for ourselves as a sector,\u201d says Orfila Jenkins. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to be very transparent, and we\u2019re trying to demystify what our production processes are.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Oatly has gone so far as to produce a book to help debunk erroneous claims surrounding plant-based milks. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been independently verified and scientifically researched,\u201d says Oatly\u2019s Hopkins-Parkinson. \u201cIt\u2019s an antidote to the unverified and often unqualified claims we see on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

But more needs to be done as the problem continues to grow.<\/p>\n

Brands can no longer rely on social media, or even some major media outlets to fact check stories related to the industry, so it\u2019s up to the industry to become the fact checkers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrands that are serious about inoculating themselves from the spillover effects of misinformation and rebuilding brand trust share similar practices,\u201d says Alan Morantz, associate professor of marketing at Smith School of Business. \u201cThey are adept at using tools such as blacklists of fake news sites, they contract with ethical digital ad agencies, and they devote resources to monitoring fake news in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And brands are also considering working together to combat the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to have an open discussion in the industry,\u201d says Oatly\u2019s Orfila Jenkins.<\/p>\n

Also read \u2192 <\/span>DSM-Firmenich calls out \u2018misinformation\u2019 over Arla Foods backlash<\/a><\/p>\n

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Seed oils have come under heavy criticism, with the industry fighting back against what it calls misinformation (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Misinformation is rife in food and beverage, with inaccurate claims about ingredients, products and production processes, made every single day. And not only can these claims be damaging to the industry, they can also be dangerous to consumers. \u201cMisinformation within this sector is pervasive, with significant consequences for public health and market dynamics,\u201d says Aditi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":832326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[648,24889],"tags":[7377,5504],"class_list":{"0":"post-832325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-industry","8":"category-misinformation","9":"tag-industry","10":"tag-misinformation"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}