North Carolina’s attorney general has joined a bipartisan group of 35 attorneys general calling on Meta to better enforce its own rules for pharmaceutical and wellness ads on Instagram and Facebook.
The coalition is especially concerned about a surge in AI-generated weight loss ads, which often appear during the holiday season and New Year when conversations about body image spike.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson said, “Flooding social media with AI-generated fakes crosses a clear line. Meta needs to shut these ads down and put health and honesty ahead of ad revenue.”
Ads for popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs have exploded, with many promoting non-FDA approved products and using AI-generated images and fake spokespeople. Jackson said these ads often target people’s insecurities and push rapid weight loss without mentioning risks or side effects.
The coalition is urging Meta to step up enforcement, require advertisers to share accurate medical information, and prevent ads that promote unhealthy body images or use deceptive AI content.
In addition to enforcing its existing policies, the attorneys general are asking Meta to:
- Restrict prescription drug ads in the United States to only those that are FDA-approved.
- Require content promoting weight loss products to clearly disclose the risks and potential side effects.
- Prohibit weight loss drug ads that use AI-generated content.
- Label AI-generated content more clearly and develop better tools to detect and remove content that isn’t properly labeled.
- Redirect people to safety and educational resources for weight loss products when they search for those products.
