Stephanie Chan, a spokesperson for Instagram parent company Meta, said the ads were pulled because the company doesn't allow "content that promotes misleading health claims" or attempts "to generate negative self-perception in order to promote health-related products. We remove ads that break these rules."
Arguably, public service ads which depict the negative consequences of drinking and smoking are "generating negative self-perception" in their intended audience. In fact, that is precisely the point.
That said - the distinction here coming in using "negative self-perception" to promote products (as opposed to advising them to seek help from a professional - who can actually advise them as to whether these products are in fact helpful or worth the money).
So that's why I don't think the (implicit) "wrongthink" analogy applies, and no, this isn't the slippery slope to a full-blown totalitarian apparatus (as is the undercurrent of most Reason articles).
Also because it’s easier to just drop the whole category than try to play the game of “well is this ad actually trying to promote healthy eating or is it just diet thinspo.” Especially when that category is so tainted that not much value will be lost.
direct to consumer drug advertising is only legal in two countries in the world. Perhaps FB is ideologically on the side of the other 200. That said they should apply the rules consistently if it's the case.
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[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 42.0 ms ] threadArguably, public service ads which depict the negative consequences of drinking and smoking are "generating negative self-perception" in their intended audience. In fact, that is precisely the point.
That said - the distinction here coming in using "negative self-perception" to promote products (as opposed to advising them to seek help from a professional - who can actually advise them as to whether these products are in fact helpful or worth the money).
So that's why I don't think the (implicit) "wrongthink" analogy applies, and no, this isn't the slippery slope to a full-blown totalitarian apparatus (as is the undercurrent of most Reason articles).
This is really a matter of "feelings" vs "health", decided only in the end by what instagram thinks makes them more money
I hadn't heard of this connection before between ADHD and obesity. But there have been some studies on it[1].
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826981/
On the other hand, looking at older issues of magazines, and seeing the smoking ads in them… yeah, I don’t miss those in the slightest.