Online influencers: healthy food or fake news

Abstract

Today we live in a globalised world, with no boundaries and where we can be updated of any information by the minute. This globalisation phenomenon has a lot of advantages as well as disadvantages. It is wonderful to know the news by the minute, however the easiness and swiftness real news spreads, and same goes to the fake news. Tools, such as search engines like Google, Bing, Yandex, etc. and social media (i.e., Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) or blogs, are turning information sharing easier, but uncontrolled. Since it is very difficult to assess the reliability of online news or information, this study seeks to understand the reliability of these new diet trends, who are these people that shared the information, and the impact of it on the society. Findings show that even though the society is being influenced by the brands, this increasing awareness for a 'healthy diet' could be something positive for the society, however the conclusions are that it is not.