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Comment by yunohn | Hacker News Reader

When it comes to ads, HNers will make up anything and believe anything, while refusing to do the most basic research.

What’s made up?

It’s not hard to find good sources stating Facebook still advertise tobacco, though you appear not to have noticed the links stating this fact. Here are some more recent links.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/17/british-ame...

https://www.independent.co.uk/health_and_wellbeing/big-tobac...

The headline and byline from your links:

“British American Tobacco circumventing ad ban”

“Smoking giants are flouting rules set by Facebook and Instagram”

As always, regardless of the digital or print medium, Big Tobacco (& others) have always tried to flout the rules. Same goes for Alcohol and Gambling ad bans.

What is incorrect about those statements? FB are paying influencers to advertise tobacco on Facebook and Instagram.

Yes, it’s proving hard to enforce a ban, but are we supposed to be sympathetic to Facebook?

The article states that they moved of the ads platform. If people pose with a cigarette and it's allowed by content guidelines of the platform and country, would you expect to have it censored? If I post a picture that I am smoking you think they should delete it cause I'm advertising it?

It rather changes the equation if you are paid by a tobacco company to hold a cigarette in a photo.

‘On Instagram, Big Tobacco’s influencers post glamorised images of vape products with hashtags such as #idareyoutotryit and captions such as “feeling Vype AF”.’ (From my link).

Fair point. I know they have 'paid partnership' annotation in posts. I didn't notice they are circumventing that.

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