Industry-funded alcohol reduction apps contain misinformation, study warns

Apps funded by the alcohol industry can use secret “misinformation tactics”, omit important public health information and “lead” users to consume more alcohol. That’s what new research has found.

The study, led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), is the first to analyze a digital tool funded by the alcohol industry that purports to offer alcohol-reduction advice.

The survey results are health promotion international.

The study compared 15 web-based or mobile apps promoted by alcohol industry funding organizations, including Drinkaware, Drinkwise, and Cheers!. Educ’Alcool features 10 digital tools promoted by governments and health services, including the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) Drink Free Day. Includes tools for the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

The research team did not identify any misleading information tactics in any state-approved tools, but all but one alcohol industry-funded tool omitted some risk information or lacked caution. It turns out that it deflects and dilutes. Researchers have dubbed these apps “dark apps.” These are apps that intentionally skew the risk of alcohol-related harm to commercial advantage and against the user’s wishes without their knowledge.

The findings suggest that the messaging used in industry-funded tools can distort the health information provided and “nudge” users toward increased consumption, researchers say. describe this as covert “misinformation strategies” and misleading app designs (called “dark patterns”). ‘

Compared to non-industry-funded tools approved by governments and health services, these ‘dark apps’ were three times less likely to inform users of increased cancer risks associated with alcohol ( (33% compared to 90% for nationally approved apps). .

Only 53% informed users about standard drink amounts, 60% about weekly limits, and 40% about groups that should avoid alcohol, such as people who may be pregnant. Almost half (53%) did not clearly tell users if they were drinking over the guideline limit.

Examples of potentially problematic messages identified by researchers include:

• “In Ireland, heavy drinking is widely considered to be the norm. 74% of Irish adults believe that heavy drinking is ‘just part of Irish culture'” (Drinkaware Ireland)
• “To keep your blood alcohol level a little lower, limit yourself to one standard drink per hour and stay safe and sociable.” (Cheers!)
• “Moderate, regular alcohol consumption may be associated with a lower risk of certain diseases.” (Eduqual Cool)

The team advises public health workers to ban apps funded by the tobacco industry and promote only independent healthcare providers, such as the NHS, similar to current regulations, some of which are funded by the alcohol industry. We want you to be warned about the tactics the tool employs. This finding is consistent with previous research showing that health education materials from the same groups funded by the alcohol industry contain significant misinformation, particularly regarding cancer risks.

Co-author Dr Elliott Roy-Highley, who worked on the study as a Master of Public Health student at LSHTM and is currently a public health registrar at the Royal Free London, said: “In recent years, government agencies have , NICE in the UK and others have advised health professionals and service organizations to avoid digital interventions funded by the tobacco industry, and believe it is important to extend this to the alcohol industry as well.

“Our study found evidence of cultural targeting and peer pressure messages, ranging from obscuring the proven risks of excessive alcohol consumption with outright misinformation.

“The public needs to know the risks associated with using apps funded by the alcohol industry, and the platforms hosting these tools need to work to remove apps found to contain false information. There is.”

Co-author of the paper, Professor Mark Petticrew, who is based at LSHTM, said: “Through our research, we found that some alcohol industry-funded apps exploit ‘dark patterns’ to help people drink less. “We found that they intentionally mislead users so that they continued to drink or increased their consumption.” the amount of alcohol they drink;

“We hope that our work will help shine a light on the alcohol industry’s use of ‘dark apps’ and that our framework can be used to vet future tools released to the public. I hope.”