Sushi, one of millennials favorite foods, was put on the chopping block by the media in early 2017. A (not so) shocking case study was published in the British Medical Journal, which provided a detailed report of a portuguese man who acquired a parasitic nematode, in the genus Anisakis, from eating sushi! He was diagnosed with a disease called anisakiasis, which was caused by consuming the raw tuna. As is common knowledge, sushi is not cooked, therefore there is high risk of it containing bacteria and even parasites. This is simply because these types of organisms tend to reside in the tissue of animals which humans consume. Although we are extremely familiar with this risk when we are eating chicken or beef, it seems to somehow have been lost when we are consuming seafood.
Despite the fact that this should not be shocking news, the media plastered the story all over the internet fully knowing millennials intimate relationship with this foreign food. After the story was posted and shared, it quickly found itself in every corner of the internet. However, it was not the case of anisakiasis that was fabricated, but rather BMJ's fear-mongering twist on it. The BMJ article, which told of the singluar portuguese case of anisakiasis, references an additional study that had detailed 25 other gastrointestinal diagnoses of anisakiasis. BMJ used this study as evidence to warn the public about the dangers of consuming sushi, and to be very cautious when eating it. However, the 25 diagnoses of anisakiasis that were detailed in this study had absolutely no connection to consuming sushi whatsoever, and rather, was caused by anchovies! Furthermore, an additional article was published recently revealing that there has only ever been 60 reported cases of anisakiasis in the United states, none of which were found to be caused by the consumption of sushi. This article also confirms that the majority of diagnosed cases of anisakiasis, in the America's and Europe, originate from marinated anchovies.
False information can be spread so easily and can even originate from sources which we believe we can trust. Situations such as this are an important reminder that within the scientific community it is vital to ensure that the cited literature referenced in scholarly articles is not misleading. But also, as a consumer, it is important to always verify the validity of other's cited sources.
Posted by: Hayley Fecko (2)
This is another example of information being falsely interpreted to the average public. A lot of people are not trained in science and do not have skills of analysis and the scientific method. Hence, they can be manipulated into believing what journals and articles want them to - for whatever ulterior motive they might have.
ReplyDelete- Posted by Priya Bikkani
This is one of the scary things about how information is spread today. Even if the factual information is true, the twist that people can put on it and how they interpret the information can be just as detrimental as spreading purely false information.
ReplyDelete-Posted by Jamie Downer
I completely agree! In today's day and age, its rather difficult to completely falsify information because we have quick and easy access to information and fact-checking. It is however, easy to manipulate information (specifically scientific studies) because the majority of consumers are not trained to understand scientific terminology and the language which we use. Therefore it is easy for the media to distort information for their own political or economic advantage.
DeletePosted by: Hayley Fecko
It's unfortunate that news articles feel the need to bend the truth like this in order to garner attention. Like you said, I'm sure they were aware that an article on how such a popular food like sushi contains a parasite would be a far better headline than talking about anchovies. This kind of information can scare people and for no real reason.
ReplyDeletePosted by Alexandra Rios
Although it is unfortunate, I do not find this kind of false reporting shocking. By creating sensational and click-bait headlines, online news articles will gain the website more traffic, increased user engagement, and ultimately economic benefit. This could likely have been a mistake or an example of lazy journalism, but it certainly mislead readers. It is important that readers look into the studies that journalists are reporting on and fact-check questionable sources of information.
ReplyDeletePosted by Jamie Courtney
Fear is such a strong and influential emotion. It controls people's lives. It sounds like this article just wanted to get attention and wasn't worried about truth. It's goal was revenue. It's sad that it slandered sushi to gain popularity. Another example of how important it is to question things in life, and not just live in someone else's story.
ReplyDeletePosted by "Takoda Nordoff"
It's crazy how all the media does now is take up topics and provide a false or exaggerated title to garner the most clicks. There is no mistake either that it takes on something that is loved by millennials, knowing how actively we use the internet. You really can't believe anything you read nowadays.
ReplyDeletePosted by Josha Cruz
This kind of information is what can cause a product to fall or even sabotage people from wanting to buy it. Sushi is one of my favorite foods, there is a risk with Raw ingredients but posting fake information does not make it right ti lie and manipulate people in order to frighten them to stop eating something.
ReplyDeletePosted by Edwin Montecinos
These kinds of articles are show that it might be in the best interest of the public and science to integrate some sort of fact-checking mechanism when posting about topics like these. A lot of people who see things on the internet do not take the time to explore them and validate the information, so maybe someday in the future there will be a way that it can be done for the general public.
ReplyDeletePosted by Danielle Bermingham (1)
What a great idea! In todays technological age where anyone can make a claim without any expertise, I think some kind of fact-checker for publicised information would be extremely helpful. To the untrained eye, I am sure articles such as this seem to contain legitimate and reliable information. If there was some type of software that could be used to fact-check information on the spot I think it could be really helpful!
DeletePosted by: Hayley Fecko
These articles that are targeted at a certain industry are not surprising as competition drives companies attempt to push their products by any means. It is too easy for social media users to share articles and spread disinformation that only polarizes and confuse the general public. The fact that the anchovies industry was directing the blame to other fish industries rather than itself is disappointing. The sushi industry is luckily luxurious enough to sustain a lost in popularity as the tastes can not be matched.
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