deceptive magazine articles

deceptive magazine articles

Magazines of a certain type can be found everywhere. Those I'm speaking of are primarily targeted towards women, and their content is focused on things such as celebrity gossip and fashion trends.

They are very alluring and carefully created to tempt people (again, women in particular) to buy them. They usually employ attractive cover art and top-notch graphic design and typography. And their covers display promises that most people in their reader bases would find to be irresistible: Two that I saw that come to mind were claims that one could lose 83 pounds in 60 days and lose all neck fat in 30 days by doing a simple neck exercise. Such cover headlines are akin to what is referred to as “clickbait” for internet users.

Such magazines prey on the weaknesses, insecurities, fear, and lack of knowledge of their readers. The articles are written to give the impression that the authors are leading experts in the topics that are discussed. But those articles are extremely biased and primarily designed to get people to buy products (as well as buy the latest editions of the magazines every time they shop).

Some article topics are things such as getting rid of cellulite, speeding up a person's metabolism, and recipes for rich and savory foods. What's particularly disturbing is that the magazines usually don't have substantive articles about human health improvement. And that's the case because such articles wouldn't increase sales among their targeted reader bases.

I'm totally in favor of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. And I also believe that people should have the right to believe in whatever they want to. Yet we live in a society that takes pride in caring about civility. And we want to believe that our society as a whole desires to practice compassion and operate in accordance with compassionate principles.

Yet the reality is that the magazines I speak of publish many tips and guidelines that are unhealthy practices. People who follow some of those tips intoxicate themselves and likely make themselves sick.

We must realize that freedom of the press and freedom of speech need to be used responsibly and wisely. People should not do things such as claim that one can drink as much alcohol as they want without harming their liver by invoking the power of a magic lamp.

It's unfortunately the case that people will fall for deceptive promises and even blatant lies that suggest that they can improve their health without changing unhealthy lifestyle practices. They must understand that things such as refined sugar and junk foods that are full of toxic ingredients should not be consumed.

It's not in your best interest to believe everything that you read.

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