Cofounder & Research Director (Volunteer)

Elise Hutchinson, PhD

Elise is a cofounder of foodfacts.org, she has a PhD in cognitive linguistics and focuses on fighting misinformation & creating meaningful debate.

About Elise Hutchinson, PhD

Elise is one of the founders of foodfacts.org. She is a linguistics professional who was awarded Summa Cum Laude for her PhD thesis, which focused on the cognitive and discursive mechanisms behind effective persuasion, particularly in the long term. She is passionate about finding ways to fight against the spread of misinformation and disinformation, and to generate meaningful, constructive debates.

She is Director of Research and Co-Editor in Chief at foodfacts.org. Her responsibilities include:

  • Conducting research into misinformation, its mechanisms and evidence-based methods to fight it effectively
  • Training all of our volunteer fact-checkers
  • Overseeing the fact-checking process, from selecting claims to fact-checks, writing fact-checks to editing final drafts
  • Content creation

Elise earned her PhD at the Université de Neuchâtel and currently lives in England.

Articles featuring  

Elise Hutchinson, PhD

FACT CHECK
Opinion
Politics Of Food

The real war that the new American dietary guidelines have created

The 2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines risk eroding trust in nutrition science while failing to address ultra-processed food dominance and structural issues.
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Nutrition

Do plant milks really harm our IQ?

We assess how a misleading headline shapes assumptions about plant-based milks and IQ, and summarises what you need to know about iodine deficiency
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Health

Why saying that raw salad is as dangerous as raw milk misses key context

When people claim that raw salad is as dangerous as raw milk, they're cherry picking data to back up their point. In this article, we dig into the detail.
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Health

Gut health vs. life-threatening peanut allergies: Why one viral story doesn’t equal a safe cure

Can cure severe allergies through healing your gut? Before people start swapping their EpiPen for sauerkraut, let's examine what the evidence says.
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Media Literacy

Exposing misinformation: how influencers twist the truth on social media

Misinformation Detractors: How Social Media Influencers Deflect Accountability in Nutrition Conversations
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Nutrition

“Not real food”? Says Eddie Abbew. A closer look at claims about tempeh, soy, and men’s health.

Abbew's claims about soy and tempeh dismiss solid nutritional evidence and misrepresent what the research on hormones actually suggests.
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Nutrition

Are potatoes really not ‘human food’? We checked the history and science

We dive into the powerful, persuasive effect of stories to fact-check a claim that potatoes “aren’t our food,” based on a retelling of the potato’s history.
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Nutrition

Why the raw meat craze is dangerous. And why influencers won’t say it

We are told eating raw meat carries real risks, but then we also see influencers eating raw meat, and they seem to feel fine. But what does the evidence say?
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Nutrition

No, you don’t need to avoid feeding your kids whole grains.

Whole grains have been consistently linked with positive health outcomes and can play an important part in health-promoting, sustainable diets.
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Health

Is ginger good for you? Or are the benefits of this "superfood" overstated?

Many people eat ginger when they're feeling unwell, but are ginger's health benefits anecdotal or based in evidence? We find out in this fact-check!
FACT CHECK
Opinion
Media Literacy

Exposing misinformation: how influencers twist the truth on social media

Misinformation Detractors: How Social Media Influencers Deflect Accountability in Nutrition Conversations