The food industry pays ‘influencer’ dietitians to shape your eating habits

The Examination

Registered dietitians are being paid to post videos that promote diet soda, sugar and supplements on Instagram and TikTok.

As the World Health Organization raised questions this summer about the risks of a popular artificial sweetener, a new hashtag began spreading on the social media accounts of health professionals: #safetyofaspartame.

Steph Grasso, a registered dietitian from Oakton, Va., used the hashtag and told her 2.2 million followers on TikTok that the WHO warnings about artificial sweeteners were “clickbait” based on “low-quality science.” Read more.