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Facebook takes aim at misleading health products

Facebook takes aim at misleading health products
Jacob Yothment

Jacob Yothment

  • Updated:

Instant Weight LossWe’ve all seen them: ads on Facebook promising a miracle cure that’s too good to be true.

These snake oil products say things like, “These pills will make you lose weight, grow your hair back, get rid of those stretch marks, make you live to be 100, and vanquish your enemies!”

As this misinformation about these miracle products counts as fake news, Facebook is making the effort to stop them. 

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In a recent blog post, Facebook announced that they are reducing the following types of health-related posts:

  • Posts with exaggerated or sensational health claims
  • Posts attempting to sell products or services with health-related claims

Basically, if a pill claims that it can reduce belly-fat without changes to diet and exercise, Facebook will determine whether or not it should be hidden from viewers.

How big is this problem?

Essential oil

You might think that you’re savvy enough to realize when a product is too good to be true, but there are several that continue to dupe people.

For example, Essential Oils are making billions of dollars. Many people buy the product as they think it can treat their symptoms, but there are no studies that show that Essential Oils have any physical effect on the human body. Despite the fact that there is no research that says Essential Oils can treat your symptoms, they are still marketed as being something that can treat diseases like autism. 

Will this affect my page?

Unless you’re trying to hawk some “miracle pills” on your Facebook page, you won’t be affected. However, some pages you might be following will. Facebook said they will be handling the situation the same way they handle clickbait, which means they will be looking for key phrases commonly used in these snake oil sales pitches.

Posts with sensational health claims or solicitation using health-related claims will have reduced distribution,” Facebook wrote. “Pages should avoid posts about health that exaggerate or mislead people and posts that try to sell products using health-related claims. If a Page stops posting this content, their posts will no longer be affected by this change.”

Keeping on the theme of Essential Oils, let’s take a look at a major Essential Oils Facebook page. Young Living Essential Oils has about 1.5 million likes. The page posts information about Essential Oils and links to buy their products. If they advertise that they can make your stinky apartment smell better, the post should remain on the page. However, if they advertise that the product will help reduce your child’s ADHD symptoms, they should be blocked according to this new policy from Facebook.

Wrapping up

It’s great that Facebook is taking steps to ensure that you won’t see these snake oil pitches. However, we need to stay educated about the misinformation these products spread across the web. Before making a purchase, do some research to determine whether or not the product is proven to work. Also, always consult your doctor before taking a new medication.  

Jacob Yothment

Jacob Yothment

Jacob Yothment is the assistant content editor for Softonic. He's worked in journalism since high school, and has been a fan of all things technology and video games his entire life. He is a 2016 graduate of Purdue University Northwest.

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