Who are you following?
Big corporations have been flying under the radar for decades with propaganda and misinformation campaigns. From Coca Cola paying off scientists to conclude soda doesn't contribute to weight gain in children to American Tobacco giving money to doctors to smoke in their medical offices, they simply adapt as consumers shift their attention to different mediums over time.
In the past decade, these greedy entities have shifted their investments into social media influencers as an effective way to sway consumers to purchase all their things. It works like this ...
- Corporations approach an influencer on Instagram or TikTok who has a significant following
- Corporations ask them to leverage (betray) the trust they've built among their audience
- Corporations pay the influencer to promote their product, either indirectly or directly
- Corporations rake in more profits than ever by taking advantage of gullible people
General Mills is a most recent example of this tactic, in addition to their millions of dollars spent on 'scientific' studies and lobbying the federal government to not place new protections for consumers on their ultra-processed junk foods.
And honestly, I have to give it up to them.
They've successfully shifted the blame away from their addictive junk foods and placed it all on the general population shaming others (while simultaneously price gouging those same people for the products causing the problem).
The obesity rate in America has more than doubled since 1980, and now you and I are apparently more at fault than corporations are. Pretty genius, indeed.
GM's multi-pronged propaganda campaign began in early 2023 disguised with "anti-diet" and "healthy at every size" messaging. The premise is that all shapes and sizes are healthy, and that no one should be shamed for eating certain foods.
Should people be able to enjoy whatever food they want? Sure, but with the understanding that foods produced by corporations are detrimental to overall health and longevity by design.
Should everyone be respected regardless of how they look? Of course, but with the understanding that there are consequences for ignoring bad lifestyle choices in a push for body positivity.
Feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone. #derailtheshame is being used in this corporate effort, and you can see some of these undercover paid advertisements here, here, and right here.
This has gotten so out of hand, that the Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on big food corporations and influencers alike for not properly disclosing payments. We're finally seeing action being taken against the food industry for preying on vulnerable humans suffering from health conditions directly caused by their own junk products.
This is just the opening of the rabbit hole that one can go down across these mediums. From adversaries targeting our distracted population with artificial intelligence to influencers creating fake scenarios on video for clicks, it's important to know that not everything is always as it seems.
So what can we do about all of this? It comes down to being vigilant in what we consume, but also paying closer attention to local professionals that aren't all over the internet. The larger someone's world presence, the greater risk they are of being compromised by large corporations.
