In the last month, Irish influencers have come under scrutiny from the general public after revelations involving competition fixes, photoshopping and misleading information.
A number of bloggers and influencers have been accused of misleading their audiences by photoshopping pictures of their bodies whilst promoting health and fitness lifestyles. A petition has begun online to call upon the Minister of Health Simon Harris to force "unqualified" fitness or nutritional bloggers to include disclaimers on their social media pages.
The petition was posted by Fiona Daly and includes a lengthy post on why the disclaimer and monitoring of bloggers and influencer in this field are essential:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, if someone is not a qualified dietician, doctor, personal trainer or accredited nutritionist and they are going to tell followers what to eat, what supplements to take, or what workouts they recommend, there needs to be a disclaimer that it is actually just their opinion.
The campaigners are arguing that this misinformation can lead to issues relating to the mind and body including orthorexia. The post on the Change.org website also discusses misinformed fitness techniques don't come with safety warnings which leaves people in the dark.
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The voices behind the petition hope that the disclaimer will protect young people who are vulnerable to misinformation. The campaigners are looking for 5,000 signatures and over 4,600 people have already signed. To sign the petition click here.
