17 NOVEMBER 2022, ITHACA, NEW YORK: Science misinformation about genetically modified crops and foods had a potential global readership of over a quarter of a billion people, according to a new study published by the Alliance for Science, which combats anti-science misinformation on topics like climate, vaccines and GMOs.
The study assessed top English-language media from around the world, with stories published over a two-year period between January 2019 and January 2021. Articles were assessed for misinformation, defined as statements that disagreed with the scientific consensus on the safety of genetic engineering.
Overall, 9% (47) of the 535 relevant articles containing 'GMO'-related keywords contained misinformation. This false information was considered likely to have had a potential reach of 256 million people.
The problem is particularly acute in Africa, where one-fifth of media coverage of genetically modified foods contained misinformation. The corresponding figures for North America and Europe were 5% and 7%, respectively.
As well as regional tags, the articles were also subjected to sentiment analysis. While an overwhelming majority of articles were categorized as 'neutral,' the majority of misinformation was rated as 'negative' in tone. There were no articles containing misinformation with a positive tone towards GMOs.
The biggest category of misinformation concerned human health. This category includes articles containing claims that GMOs cause cancer or other health impacts without refutation, because such claims contradict a worldwide scientific consensus that food from genetically engineered crops is as safe as food from non-genetically engineered crops. Misinformation on GMOs and human health also had the highest readership, achieving a potential reach of 139 million people.
The study was conducted in partnership with Cision Media, using its NextGen database of global media. Sentiment analysis and categorization was performed manually, not by machine.
