An investigation from STAT, The Examination, The Bristol Cable, Daraj, Investico, Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel, Der Standard, and the Toronto Star found that for more than a decade, Red Bull paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for research favorable to the energy drink industry.

Why it’s important: In the U.S. and Canada, research backed by Red Bull or conducted by academics with financial ties to the company has been used to defeat measures such as age restrictions and warning labels.

The details:

The studies backed by Red Bull have been nearly unanimous in the message that consuming energy drinks and alcohol together is no more harmful than drinking alcohol alone. But that stands in stark contrast to the vast majority of independent studies on the subject.
Alcohol researchers who reviewed some of the studies with ties to Red Bull said a number of the studies are flawed, raising questions about their conclusions.
The stimulation from energy drinks added to the impaired judgement caused by alcohol is a recipe for risky behavior. And in addition to caffeine, energy drinks also contain ingredients such as taurine and guarana that can magnify its effects on the body. Research has found that mixing energy drinks and alcohol is linked to higher rates of binge drinking, sexual abuse, drunk driving, and injury.
The bigger picture: Much of the Red Bull-supported research was conducted at a time of growing public debate about the safety of energy drinks, especially among young people and in combination with alcohol. It was successful in preventing policies that would have restricted energy drinks.