Facebook is once again in the midst of controversy after a report indicates that cancer patients are being bombarded by advertisements for ‘doubtful’ treatments against the disease.
According to MIT Technology Reviewthere is a pattern in Facebook that advertises misleading or false health claims.
controversies
Evidence from users Facebook and Instagram, medical researchers, and its own ad library suggest that Meta is riddled with ads containing sensational health claims, from which the company benefits directly.
According to the report, there are two main authors: CHIPSA Hospital and Verita Life.
The first promotes itself as “the original Gerson Therapy hospital” and is located in Tijuana, Mexico; the second presents itself on its website as a “German clinic for integrative cancer medicine”, with a presence in Thailand and Mexico.
“We are fighting a losing battle. But now we have a new hope. The combination of intravenous vitamin C and K3 in a 100:1 ratio known as Apatone. This specific combination causes a form of cell necrosis called autoschizis…it is KILLING the cancer”, says the publication promoted by CHIPSA in Facebook. In the case of Verita Life, advertisements promote the use of hyperthermia -which requires applying heat above 40 degrees in the area of the tumor- as a cure for cancer.
Deceptive advertisements can remain untouched for months and even years. Some of the ads reviewed by the outlet promoted treatments that have been shown to cause acute physical harm in some cases. Other advertisements pointed users towards very expensive treatments with dubious results.
Defend themselves
According to Meta, “several of the ads have been removed for violating our misleading claims policy, which prohibits claims of cures for incurable diseases.”
The report is serious especially when Facebook has dramatically stepped up its efforts to stop the spread of sensational and false health claims in recent years. As the COVID-19 pandemic began, the company implemented more comprehensive efforts to remove or limit claims such as conspiracies about the virus, masks, and vaccines being spread on its platform, for example.
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