Pinterest Inc. said Thursday it will ban advertisements with weight-loss language and imagery on its platform, as the company joins a broader body-positivity movement.
The online image-sharing company won’t allow any ads with weight-loss testimonials or weight-loss products. It will also prohibit language or imagery that idealizes or puts down certain body types, the company said. This doesn’t extend to ads that promote healthy lifestyles, habits and fitness services and products, it said.
Pinterest’s users, whom the company refers to as pinners, will still be able to search for topics such as weight-loss advice and healthy-eating tips, the company said.
“Pinterest has always worked to mitigate potentially harmful or negative content from impacting pinners’ experience and spreading inaccurate or harmful information on our platform,” Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s head of policy, said in an email. “Prohibiting weight loss ads is an expansion of these ad policies.”
The updated policy will only apply to ads on the company’s platform, she said. Pinterest already has rules against users posting content that “displays, rationalizes or encourages eating disorders and other types of self-injury.”