Chapter 9: Combatting Wellness Misinformation on Youtube: The Case of Abbey Sharp

Since its creation in 2005, YouTube has become a site for significant community building, as the platform and its affordances encourage active audiences. One creator in the YouTube wellness space is Abbey Sharp, a registered dietitian who reviews ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos of popular YouTube creators. Sharp’s videos follow the traditional ‘reaction video’ format; she’s positioned as both viewer and consumer, providing commentary on dietary choices and wellness claims. The author investigates Sharp’s role in the spread of wellness misinformation through a life narrative lens as she participates in the wellness community while actively combatting misinformation. Sharp utilises trends and platform affordances to act against health and wellness misinformation. Sharp’s reaction video format creates a collaborative space, where the original creator is taken out of the context of their video and edited into a space where they are critiqued through the lens of a ‘professional’ other. The author argues that Sharp’s health professional status (and reach of over 570,000 subscribers) provides legitimacy to her critique and consequently alters how wellness narratives on YouTube are consumed.