Complex Numbers

Be Positive

One reason conspiracy "theories" flourish is that, sometimes, an actual conspiracy is brought to light. While today's article, from MPR, doesn't quite rise to the level of major international conspiracy, it's enough to make you wonder what other similar things are going on.

    Online dietitians backed by General Mills, big food companies using ‘anti-diet’ language to promote junk food  

This is like finding out that PETA, the pseudo-animal-rights organization whose idiotic performance art ensured that I will never become a vegetarian, is actually funded by KFC. And yet, this is both hilarious and entirely predictable.

Cupcakes. Frozen Pizza. Ice Cream. Cereal. These are some of the sugary foods that a slew of social media influencers are encouraging folks to enjoy guilt free.

Honestly, I'm not opposed to that message. One reason we're so damn neurotic as a society is that lots of us have been convinced to feel guilty about everything pleasurable, instead of simply enjoying it. It's Puritanism all over again, and I won't put up with it.

But I say these things without any benefit other than my own enjoyment at turning out to be right. Certainly, no one's paying me. Not even attention.

However, a joint Washington Post and The Examination investigation found that major food companies, including Minnesota-based food giant General Mills, are reportedly capitalizing on the campaign by paying online dietitians to get people to consume more of their highly processed foods.

Calling the people involved "online dieticians" is questionable, at best. Having watched a couple of videos about diet advice doesn't make you a dietician, but that, combined with a helping of chutzpah and earnest confidence and maybe a nice paycheck from Little Debbie, can convince people that you are. It's like how people spread the misinformation about ivermectin and Covid.

Recently, General Mills, one of the biggest food companies in America, has started adopting the anti-diet philosophy as a way to promote their products. So, they’re doing this through a multi-pronged campaign that involves funding influencers online to promote this message, funding research and also hiring lobbyists to fight back against federal regulation.

Just to be clear: I think that all of these things are acceptable in a society that values freedom of speech and association. What's not acceptable is lying about it, or failing to disclose it.

We reached out to General Mills, and they say that they comply with federal regulations, and are working closely with scientific health nutrition experts to make sure that the information that they’re putting out there is accurate and based in evidence.

I can hear its nose growing from all the way over here.

I think it’s best to, when we’re approaching social media, to have a skeptical mindset. And, probably I would recommend people turn to their doctors for advice, as opposed to influencers online.

And sure, doctors are human too, and susceptible to outside influence. The shady practices of pharmaceutical companies are one way they can be led astray. So they're not always right. But they're far more likely to have the knowledge and experience to consult on things like this than some rando on the internet (myself included).

Skepticism (that's scepticism if you're British) is a good thing. Better that than naîve acceptance of everything you see online (or in ads or wherever). But that includes skepticism of conspiracy theories. Or conspiracy-adjacent theories.