Degrading content marketing: Legal and social implications on public health and the environment

¹ Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Iraq
² Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kufa, Iraq

^* Corresponding author: Kais.alhadrawi@atu.edu.iq

Abstract

Exploring the legal and social ramifications of ‘degrading’ content marketing regarding public health. ‘Degrading’ content marketing is defined as promotional communication that employs sensational, offensive, or unethical material designed to garner attention, often at the cost of its intended harmful effects. This paper will consider the increasingly reported practice of marketing communications, particularly concerning the digital revolution, and its influences on consumer behavior, social values, and perceptions of public health. Legally, this paces the study’s call for more stringent control in bringing organizations to book over harmful content propagation and, secondly, to come out with clear guidelines to prevent its diffusion. Socially, the study points at the negative impact on health behaviors, especially among vulnerable groups, such as young people and adolescents, and that often the media perpetuate unhealthy lifestyles. It therefore calls for stakeholders to organize public awareness campaigns, responsible media practices, and agreements between government agencies with social media platforms & health organizations to reduce the adverse effects of degrading content marketing. Finally, it calls for more decency in marketing as a means to protect public health and social well-being.