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Have you seen Jameela Jamil's petition to stop celebrities promoting toxic diet products on social media? Over 120,000 people have signed it so far - and yep, we're one of them! In fact, we can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to sign it.
The reality is that social media networks like Instagram and Facebook have turned into giant ad platforms. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - people finally get to promote their businesses and products, and perhaps make a decent living. But it becomes a bad thing if celebrities with millions and millions of followers, are endorsing products that are preying on the insecurities of their young followers - products that don't actually work at all and to use Jameela's words, will make you "shit yourself." Yes, most of these products are just glorified laxatives.
Jameela explains it all in the Change.org petition:
"In the last few years, we have seen a scary rise in the marriage of celebrity and diet/detox endorsement. There's little to no information about the side effects or main ingredients, the harm they may cause or any of the science behind how these products are supposed to work. They are instead, flogged in glossy paid adverts by celebrities and influencers with no expertise or authority in nutrition/medicine/biology."
The petition references a BBC article in which NHS Medical Director, Professor Stephen Powis explains that these endorsements are extremely harmful to the physical and mental health of young people. He says, “highly influential celebrities are letting down the very people who look up to them, by peddling products which are at best ineffective and at worst harmful."
So how exactly do we stop celebrities who are sometimes paid RIDICULOUS amounts of money to promote these products? Well, there are two ways:
- Celebs themselves need to grow a conscience and realise that the money they are earning is NOT worth the physical and mental harm these products are causing their followers; or
- Do it Jameela's way. Sign the petition. By doing so, you are calling on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to stop influencers from using these platforms to sell detox and diet products that can be harmful.
"Please help me take the first step in dismantling this nonsense new culture," Jameela writes, "by stopping those with the most influence from being able to freely spread lies and irresponsible, ignorant nonsense, to their vulnerable young followers."
Jameela's goal is to reach 150 thousand signatures, but we reckon she can do even better than that.
If you'd like to learn more, you can check out the petition HERE.
