World Cup fans were exposed to junk food, alcohol and gambling ads every seven seconds
A new study found World Cup viewers saw ads for unhealthy food, alcohol, and gambling every seven seconds.Summary
Researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford analyzed all 172.6 hours of live play across the 2026 FIFA World Cup's 104 matches using the UK's Isambard-AI supercomputer. They found that more than 93,000 ads for potentially harmful products—including unhealthy food, alcohol, and gambling—were displayed during coverage, with viewers exposed to such advertising for 39.3 hours, nearly a quarter of total live broadcast time. On average, viewers saw nine logos associated with health or financial harm per minute of live play. Unhealthy food and drink brands dominated with over seven in ten appearances (65,722 logos, 28.1 hours of visibility), followed by prediction markets (9,360 logos, 8.8 hours), alcohol (9,266 logos, 8.2 hours), and gambling (6,429 logos, 4.2 hours). The study, which analyzed 53 UK broadcasts, estimated 267 billion impressions from harmful commodity advertising. The researchers stressed that the tournament served as a "powerful platform for promoting products associated with some of the world's leading causes of preventable illness and harm."
(Source：Euronews)