In an effort to take a stand against “lose-weight-fast” promotions and miracle claims by influencers, Instagram has recently announced new policies that will remove and restrict those type of promotional posts involving weight loss products and cosmetic surgeries, according to a report on the Evening Standard.
This means that unrealistic and possibly unhealthy promotions will be be removed if they have an incentive to buy, and users can report posts that violate the new rules to Instagram for further review and action. The policy will also apply to Facebook.
Emma Collins, Instagram’s public policy manager was quoted as saying that this policy will also mean that those under 18 will not be able to see any of those branded promotions on their feed.
“If [a Kardashian’s] Instagram post is pulled into the policy of promoting diet products or procedures for sale then that post won’t be available to under 18s,” she said.
The decision by Instagram has garnered positive feedbacks from various anti-diet culture advocates, body-positive campaigners and healthy-living advocates, too.
Here’s what showed up on actress Jameela Jamil’s Instagram as a response to the announcement. She has been working with Instagram to put the policies in place for the past year.
As promoters of wellness and health through body positivity, healthy-eating and an active lifestyle, SHAPE Malaysia couldn’t agree more on these new policies.