News outlets producing ‘covert marketing’ for McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s, study finds

Journalists’ ‘implied endorsement’ of junk food raises public health concerns, researchers say. Photograph: Joerg Huettenhoelscher/Alamy

Fast food chains are successfully influencing news outlets to produce “covert marketing” for their brands, a new study has found.

The study, led by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, analysed all press releases from McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s Pizza in Australia between July 2021 and June 2022.