Food-Frames

Addressing Food Mis- and Disinformation in the Digital Sphere (Food-Frames)

The rise of social media has created new opportunities for sharing engaging and evidence-based content on food, nutrition, and health. At the same time, it enables food-related mis- and disinformation to spread rapidly, driven by psychological vulnerabilities and misaligned incentives. Children, adolescents and young adults are particularly exposed and vulnerable to harm. 

To Food-Frames brings together the expertise of ten partners from seven countries and across disciplines including psychology, nutrition, public health, law, economics, and media and policy studies. As part of the project, we assess the extent to which adolescents and young adults in Europe are exposed to food-related mis- and disinformation in the digital sphere, how they perceive and experience this exposure, and how it affects their mental health and dietary behaviours. We will also evaluate interventions and develop recommendations for mitigating harmful effects while maximizing social media’s potential for positive impact.

At the University of Bayreuth, we will lead a photovoice study in three European countries (Austria, Germany and the Netherlands) to investigate how young social media users aged 13–25 years experience the online food environment on social media. We will also contribute to assessing country differences in marketing exposure and momentary psychological mechanisms by applying the KidAd App developed by WHO Europe in Germany. In addition, we will lead a study engaging food and nutrition influencers to explore their motivations, lived experiences and contractual arrangements through in-depth interviews, and to explore their perspectives on how mis- and disinformation in online food environments can be addressed. We will also contribute to a literature review on interventions targeting food-related mis- and disinformation, as well as a subsequent Delphi study to identify the most promising interventions.

Funder: Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) with co-funding from the European Commission through the FutureFoodS partnership

Project partners: Wageningen University, University College Cork, University of Vienna, Ghent University, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, University of Pisa, Sciensano, LMU Munich

Project period: 2026-2029

Project website: Coming soon