Influencers on TikTok Are Being Paid to Spread Misinformation About Aspartame

Published

2 years ago

October 27, 2023

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Share on Pinterest A recent investigation has found that food and beverage companies are paying influencers on Tiktok and Instagram to spread misinformation and downplay health risks associated with the artificial sweetener aspartame. SrdjanPav/Getty ImagesAn investigation by Washington Post has revealed that many dietitians were paid to spread misinformation about aspartame by the food and beverage industry.Influencers used the #safetyofaspartame hashtag to discredit WHO warnings about the artificial sweetenerAccording to the WHO, aspartame is possibly carcinogenic when consumed in high quantities.Experts agree that its generally safe to consume in moderation, but you can cut back by substituting it with maple syrup, honey, or dates.

A Washington Post investigation has found that dozens of influencer dietitians on TikTok and Instagram were paid by the food and beverage industry to spread misinformation about the safety of the artificial sweetener aspartame.

The promotion was designed to blunt warnings from The World Health Organization (WHO) published in July that said aspartame is ineffective for weight loss and possibly carcinogenic.

Many influencers claimed the WHO warnings were clickbait and based on low-quality science. The campaign was shown to have reached 11 million followers and counting.

Aspartame is found in a wide range of foods and drinks, including sugar-free soda and diet foods.

Research indicates around 6,000 products are manufactured with aspartame.

The sweetener, often used as a weight-management tool, is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar, but low in calories, packing around four calories per gram.

However, health bodies recommend a daily limit of 40 mg/kg body weight to limit its potentially cancer-causing effects.

Nutritionist Rebecca Heald says its very concerning to hear that some dietitians are spreading misinformation about the safety of this popular artificial sweetener.

As a responsible source of nutrition information, dietitians should base their advice on credible scientific evidence. However, its not entirely surprising that this happens, as the internet and social media platforms have been known to amplify unverified claims and sensational information, she points out.

Misinformation may have caused confusion about the health risks posed by aspartame. So, just how safe is the sweetener? Health risks associated with aspartame

You may be relieved to know that in small quantities aspartame is unlikely to cause you any harm. However, there are some things to consider before including it in your diet.

Aspartame has undergone extensive safety testing and is considered safe for consumption by regulatory agencies like the FDA and EFSA. However, some individuals may have specific sensitivities or allergies to aspartame, resulting in adverse reactions, says Heald.

In very high doses, it can cause headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances, and allergic reactions.

Whats more, it may not be the best appetite and weight management tool.

Some studies have suggested that artificial sweeteners like aspartame may disrupt the bodys natural appetite regulation mechanisms, Heald explains. This can potentially lead to overeating or cravings for sweeter, high-calorie foods, which, in turn, may affect gut health and contribute to weight gain.

Like Heald, clinic nutritionist Nishtha Patel agrees that aspartame appears to be safe in moderation, but doesnt necessarily recommend it.

A large number of scientific research and regulatory agencies around the world seem to agree that aspartame is safe for consumption when taken within the recommended daily intake, Patel points out.

Furthermore, it seems that the risk factors are most relevant to certain conditions such as phenylketonuria (PKU), a genetic disorder that stops you from metabolizing a specific amino acid found in aspartame called phenylalanine.

Still, Patel isnt sold on the benefits of adding artificial sweeteners like aspartame to your diet.

I personally do not like to use artificial sweeteners or anything artificial. My philosophy is to go as close to nature as possible, she says. How much aspartame is safe to consume?

If youre counting calories in a bid to lose or maintain weight, consuming foods and drinks that contain aspartame is one way to continue enjoying usually high-calorie and high-sugar treats like soda.

It may sound obvious to say that moderation is key, but when it comes to aspartame, what does moderation actually look like?

According to the WHO, a can of diet soft drink contains 200 or 300 mg of aspartame, and an adult weighing 70kg would need to consume more than 914 cans per day to exceed the acceptable daily intake, assuming no other intake from other food sources.

As the WHO guidance suggests, Heald says you dont need to eliminate aspartame completely unless you have an allergy or sensitivity.

Her advice?

Just be sure to maintain a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods alongside it. How to limit artificial sweeteners

If you are looking to cut down on artificial sweeteners like aspartame, or hoping to eliminate them completely, Heald says getting curious about food labels is the best place to start.

You can identify aspartame on food labels by looking for its presence in the ingredient list, but if in doubt, its typically found in sugar-free or diet products, like diet drinks, sugar-free chewing gum, sugar-free desserts, and some low-calorie foods, she explains.

You might want to consider eating these less frequently or making room for the non-diet versions of these foods assuming you can enjoy them as part of a balanced diet.

Alternatively, if you want to avoid aspartame, you should choose products that are explicitly labeled as aspartame-free or no artificial sweeteners, Heald says.

And if you want to add a little sweetness to your food? Patel recommends a little maple syrup, honey, or dates as potential substitutes. Takeaway

In the social media age, misinformation can be difficult to spot and, when it comes to dietary advice, scrutiny is needed to assess the reliability of any claim.

Where aspartame is concerned, Heald says its essential to approach this topic with nuance and consideration for your individual tolerance and preferences.

Aspartame may allow you to enjoy foods and drinks that are conventionally off-limits while losing weight, but moderation is definitely key.

World

Fierce battle for frontline towns where Ukraine’s soldiers are surrounded

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Fierce battle for frontline towns where Ukraine's soldiers are surrounded

Footage geolocated by Sky News showed Russian soldiers walking through the Shakhtarskyi neighbourhood on the outskirts of Pokrovsk on Thursday.

The video sheds light on the situation in this key frontline area, as Russian forces slowly encroach on Myrnohrad, the satellite town to Pokrovsk, and one of its last remaining outposts.

Videos geolocated by Sky News show fighting intensifying in recent weeks, as Russian forces attempt to gain control of the towns and their network of road and rail intersections.

Gaining control here would give Russia a base from which to access key cities further north that form part of Ukraine’s “fortress belt”.

Russian forces are advancing from all directions, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), with only one small opening to the northwest of Myrnohrad remaining.

Estimated to be only 3km wide by military experts, this withdrawal corridor is patrolled by Russian drone units which monitor the area for moving vehicles and those who may attempt to leave on foot.

Russian forces have been advancing on Myrnohrad since late October.

Video from a Ukrainian unit in Myrnohad, posted on 29 October, shows a Russian vehicle attempting to enter the town from the northeast. The tank is attacked and soldiers attempting to enter on foot are targeted.

Video posted on 3 November shows Russian forces on the ground in the south of the town.

By 8 November, Russian strikes begin to pummel the northeast of Myrnohrad, the location of many of the town’s high-rise buildings, at that time, held by Ukrainian forces.

George Barros, Russia Team & Geospatial Intelligence Team Lead at ISW, told Sky News that Russian strategy in Pokrovsk has been to erode Ukrainian logistical capacity using drones and artillery over the course of several months.

“After denying supply lines and degrading the frontline forces by essentially cutting them off from behind and starving them out in their positions, then the Russians move forward with their infantry and frontal assaults,” Barros explained.

Capture the flag

For a brief period, it looked as though Russian forces had captured Myrnohrad.

Videos posted on 13 November appeared to show a Russian flag flying over the Myrnohrad mine.

However, video posted the following day showed a Ukrainian drone shooting it down.

Both Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight for control of Myrnohrad, with videos posted on the 19 and 20 November showing Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the town, and Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian forces on foot.

While the exact numbers of Russian and Ukrainian forces in the area remains unclear, reports indicate that three key Russian units are active in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, and are advancing on the towns from the north and south.

A number of Ukrainian units remain inside the towns, including the 145th Assault regiment and the 32nd, 35th, 38th and 155th Brigades. Reports indicate that more Ukrainian units have been moved into surrounding areas to hold the withdrawal corridor open.

Sky News reached out to the Ukrainian brigades still in Myrnohrad, but they declined to comment, citing military regulations.

Strategic significance

Natia Seskuria, associate international security fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), explained that the area is important for the Ukrainians to keep and the Russians to take because of its strategic position.

“Situated at a major road and rail intersection in Donetsk Oblast, Pokrovsk has functioned as a central artery for moving troops, equipment, and supplies to Ukrainian units deployed along the surrounding front.”

Russia “would gain a platform to redirect its offensive efforts toward Ukraine’s principal defensive urban centres… including Kramatorsk and Slovyansk,” Seskuria said.

Ukrainian and Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk have fought intensely and at close quarters over the last month.

In late October US-made Black Hawk helicopters containing specialist troops directed by Ukrainian military intelligence entered Pokrovsk to try to keep the town.

But as Russian troops advance, Myrnohrad is becoming the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the area.

Uncertain future

At least up until 12 November, there were still civilians living in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, despite strikes on buildings in both cities.

A post made on that day by the Donetsk state regional administration estimated 1,200 people remain living in Pokrovsk and 900 in Myrnohrad.

Evacuation is only possible with the help of the military or police, and it is not clear how many have evacuated in the 11 days since.

Barros of ISW says gaining Pokrovsk would increase Russia’s leverage at the negotiating table.

“If the Russians can successfully convince enough international leaders that, okay, the Russians took Pokrovsk, they’re going to take the next thing, and they’re going take the thing, so now let’s negotiate, then that is a strategic victory for the Russians.”

Production by Michelle Inez Simon, Visual Investigations Producer.

The Data x Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

Torrential rain triggers deadly flooding and landslides in Vietnam

Published

3 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Torrential rain triggers deadly flooding and landslides in Vietnam

Torrential rain, flooding and landslides has left more than 100 people dead or missing in Vietnam.

Rainfall has exceeded 74.8in (1.9 metres) in some parts of central Vietnam over the past week.

The region is a major coffee production belt and home to popular beaches, but it is also prone to storms and floods.

Fatalities have been reported in Dak Lak province and the neighbouring Khanh Hoa province.

Footage has been released by local police of a dramatic rescue, involving a drone which airlifted a stranded man to safety from an island in the middle of the Serepok River, Dak Lak province.

The government estimates the flooding has cost the economy around 8.98 trillion dong (£260m).

More than 235,000 houses were flooded and nearly 80,000 hectares of crops were damaged, Vietnam’s disaster agency said.

On Thursday, VietnamNet newspaper said that a suspension bridge on Da Nhim River in Lam Dong province had been swept away.

Video footage posted online showed the bridge being swallowed by the river in just a few seconds.

Naval forces have been deployed to help stranded citizens in Khanh Hoa, the Vietnam News Agency reported, adding that floodwaters had reached record highs in many areas.

Photos shared in state media reports showed residents, including children, sitting on the roofs of flooded houses in Khanh Hoa, Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces.

A seven-year-old girl was rescued late on Wednesday in Da Lat, the capital of Lam Dong province, after being buried by a landslide, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

The landslide, triggered by heavy rain, knocked down and buried part of the house where the girl was staying.

She was pulled out after an hour and a half and was taken to hospital with a broken leg, according to the report.

World

JFK’s granddaughter reveals terminal cancer diagnosis – as she hits out at relative RFK Jr

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3 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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JFK's granddaughter reveals terminal cancer diagnosis - as she hits out at relative RFK Jr

John F Kennedy’s granddaughter has revealed she has terminal cancer, making the announcement on the anniversary of the ex-US president’s assassination.

Tatiana Schlossberg, 35, has also criticised policies pushed by her relative, US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a long-time vaccine critic.

She said measures backed by RFK Jr could hurt cancer patients like her, and her mother Caroline Kennedy, a former US ambassador, had urged senators to reject his confirmation in Congress in January.

Mr Kennedy has sparked controversy after saying COVID-19 shots were no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, firing the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, and refusing to strongly back vaccinations as a measles outbreak worsened.

Ms Schlossberg, who said she was diagnosed in May last year, made her remarks in an essay for The New Yorker on Saturday, which was published on the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather’s assassination in Dallas in 1963.

She said of RFK Jr: “As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers.”

After the birth of her second child, her doctor noticed her high white blood cell count. It turned out to be acute myeloid leukaemia with a rare mutation, called Inversion 3, mostly seen in older people.

Ms Schlossberg, an environmental journalist, wrote she has undergone rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants, the first using cells from her sister and the next from an unrelated donor, and participated in clinical trials.

In the article, she disclosed that one of her doctors during the latest trial told her “he could keep me alive for a year, maybe”. She also spoke of her fears her daughter and son will not remember her.

Her parents are JFK’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg. Her grandmother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the wife of the 35th US president, often referred to as Jackie O, died aged 64 of cancer in 1994, when she was under the age of five.

Ms Schlossberg said she feels cheated and sad that she won’t get to keep living “the wonderful life” she had with her husband, George Moran.

While her parents and siblings try to shelter her from their pain, she said she feels it every day.

“For my whole life, I have tried to be good, to be a good student and a good sister and a good daughter, and to protect my mother and never make her upset or angry,” Ms Schlossberg said.

“Now I have added a new tragedy to her life, to our family’s life, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”