Food-related mis- and dis- information exploits crises like the war in Ukraine, report finds

Food-related mis- and dis-information has global reach and is exacerbated and intensified when related to international crises, such as the war in Ukraine, according to a report by European fact-checking organizations. The report examines fact-checks from Lithuania and the Baltic region, comparing fact-checks in Lithuanian and in Russia, which is a prevalent language for misinformation spread in the region.

Largely, food-related misinformation fell into six broad categories, relating to: “edible insects, global hunger conspiracies, brands and organisations, the war in Ukraine, and concerns about artificial food and its risks”.

The report found all themes present in both languages analysed, but while in Lithuanian there was only one claim linking food to the war in Ukraine, it was the second-most common claim theme in Russian-language misinformation. Within this category, most of the misinformation linked Western countries to food issues related to the war.

Because food is often linked to crises—the report also found many of the misinformation narratives in other categories were related to, for example, the coronavirus pandemic—and it is so essential to human survival, these misinformation narrative are often very emotional, which makes them more liable to spread and even eventually turn violent, according to the report.

In addition to misinformation linked directly to crises, many of the claims exploited existing worries among Europeans, sometimes imported from abroad and sometimes coming about within the continent. For example, exploiting frustration with international institutions, by falsely claiming that “the World Economic Forum's organisers have mandate[d] that people of the future will have to eat 40% less than today” or that Europeans would be forced to eat insects.

Report author, Aistė Meidutė, of Delfi Melo Detektorius said, “While conducting our investigation into food related disinformation and misinformation topic we noticed that almost all false narratives that were circling in Lithuania and neighboring countries were identical to those that we found in global fact-checking databases. Food is a central element to our existence therefore it did not surprise us that disinformation spreaders were trying to adapt this topic in order to scare, trick or disorientate Europeans in multiple countries. I could not stress enough the importance of international collaborations between different fact-checking organizations because you can effectively fight global issues only if you think globally.”

The report, titled “You Are What You Eat: How Disinformation Spreaders Use Food Topics to Manipulate Europeans”, was developed by the Lithuanian fact-checking organisation Delfi Melo Detektorius as part of the Climate Facts Europe project, coordinated by the European Fact-Checking Standards Network. The report draws on fact-checks and debunks from 24 fact-checking organizations across Europe as part of the Climate Facts Europe database, complemented by other sources and data.

This report is the final of four which analyse mis- and disinformation identified in the Climate Facts database as part of the Climate Facts Europe project, which have been published in the lead up to and the weeks following the 2024 European Parliament Elections.

The European Fact-Checking Standards Network is the association of European fact-checking organizations who commit to the standards of independence, transparency, and journalistic quality outlined in the European Code of Standards for Independent Fact-Checking Organisations.

Report link.

Share this article: