Oh, hi! You just caught me taking casual, impromptu
selfies in front of a flower wall.
How did that get in here? We can all agree that Instagram is fun and
chill and not destroying me inside.
It's harmless, right? Instagram influencers peddle a lot of stuff,
everything from sunglasses to sketchy diet drinks,
and the latest frontier is medical treatments. What about the FDA what about the FTC?
What about regulations of promoting products that may not always have proper recommendations
and just relying on the influencer, what does the influencer know
about these medications that they tell you the whole story?
Yes, the same people who failed to teach us how to do
cat eyeliner are now giving us medical advice. And some of them are giving that advice to
tens of millions of followers. That's scary!
Especially because they're advertising products that could be dangerous.
Last year, blogger Erin Ziering was paid by the pharmaceutical
company Allergan to promote their Biocell breast implants and
Botox. Not only did Ziering fail to properly disclose
the products' health risks, she posted the ad the same month the FDA issued
a warning that women using the implants were at risk
of developing breast implant-associated cancers.
Even worse, Ziering dedicated her post to breast cancer survivors.
Look, I know what we're all thinking. How could Erin Ziering, wife of Ian Ziering,
the star of Sharknados 1 through 6, not be a better arbiter of taste?
The only way this could have gone worse is if she ended her post by plugging the next
Sharknado sequel, "Sharknado 7: This time it's Malignant".
I won't like it, but I will see it. The FDA and FTC have guidelines that regulate
commercials to ensure what they're depicting is truthful
and safe. They're the reason TV ads tell us to use medicine
as directed, testimonials are paid, or cars can't snowboard.
But brah, if they could, it'd be hella gnarly. FTC and FDA guidelines can be confusing,
and it's up to the influencer to interpret them.
So usually, they just don't. That means only 7% of paid content on Instagram
might follow FTC guidelines. if Instagram were a restaurant the Health
Department wouldn't even give it a letter grade.
They'd just make the rat from Ratatouille stand outside and say, "No ma'am."
Here's an example of how a drug that treats psoriasis
discloses side effects on television. Don't use if you're allergic to Otezla.
It may cause severe diarrhea, nausea or vomiting. Otezia’s associated with an increased risk
of depression. Some people taking Otezla reported weight
loss. Upper respiratory infection and headache may
occur. Tell your doctor about your medicines and
if you're pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you!
Screw it. At that point, just list the side effects as "all of them".
Here's an ad for the same product on Instagram. There's no mention of seeing a doctor, no
side effects, and I guess mentioning severe vomiting would've
impacted her Likes. The FTC and FDA lack the manpower to sift
through millions of SponCon posts, so they rely on consumers to report ads.
Consumers are not experts in advertising law. I just reported an ad for Cindy Crawford Home
because I didn't like how smug Cindy Crawford looked about her couch.
You're not better than me, Cindy Crawford. We're equals.
Misleading SponCon is everywhere. Last year, Sunsafe Rx paid influencers to
promote their dietary supplement, and at least one claimed the product could
replace the use of sunscreen. This came months after the FDA issued an official
warning that no pill could replace SPF for sun protection,
followed by a second official warning that just said, “are you an idiot?”.
Of course there's no pill that could replace sunscreen.
If there were, we'd have discovered it years ago,
no one would have skin cancer, and no one would have ever been subjected
to that Coppertone ad where a dog pervert pulls off
a little girl's swimsuit. Here's another dangerous example:
the Bloomlife Pregnancy Tracker, a wearable device that monitors contractions.
It isn't FDA approved, because the company says
it's for informational use only and not intended to diagnose any condition.
But that's not how everyone uses it. It's the pregnancy equivalent of when Hitachi
Magic Wand tries to say it's a massager for sore muscles
but everyone knows that just means pussy muscles. Bloomlife pays mommy-bloggers to advertise
to other pregnant women, and they provide very few guidelines about
what claims influencers should make. Some posts even imply that Bloomlife could
save expectant mothers from making an unnecessary trip to the hospital.
Like this influencer who posted, "I've been using the contraction tracker
to know what is and isn't a false alarm”. No you don't know what's a false alarm.
You know who knows? A doctor, and soon the taxi driver who's going
to deliver your baby. You better tip.
Even seemingly innocuous remedies can have life-altering consequences.
Detox teas, promoted on Instagram by the Kardashians and other influencers,
have been blamed for unplanned pregnancies! The tea contains an herb that has a laxative
effect, which can reduce the absorption of birth control
pills. And even if you don't get accidentally pregnant,
you will accidentally ruin your favorite pair of jeans.
Right. This stuff makes you crap all over the place.
Ok? That's the only way I can say it. It fully makes you poop, like, a hardcore
diarrhea attack. You can get a hardcore diarrhea attack
or you can get a hardcore diarrhea attack and pregnant.
It's the world's worst game of Would You Rather. Influencers don't just sell products.
They sell lifestyles. And companies are increasingly turning to
them, because it works. A recent survey found that 57% of millennials
are willing to view sponsored content from a brand as long as the posts use "authentic
personalities." Because nothing says authentic like people
who stand on their tip-toes like a Barbie to fake
a thigh gap. We can't trust influencers to give us information
about medicine. We can't even trust them to give us information
about make-up remover. "I've obviously tried my fair share of make-up
removers, but these are by far my favorite."
Logically, I know Shay Mitchell didn't actually touch her face,
but emotionally, I want to believe her. In 2019, experts predict that there will be
about 5 million sponsored posts on Instagram alone.
Companies are taking advantage of the lack of oversight
in a way that puts consumers at risk. The FTC and FDA have to monitor SponCon as
closely as other ads. We have medical advertising regulations for
a reason. It's so people don't die or shit themselves
pregnant. Thanks, give me a follow!
We'll be right back.