Over the past year, so-called “miracle” weight loss drugs have exploded on the Internet. While celebrity users have risen in stature, they owe much of their fame to social media and message boards, where they are promoted by influencers and everyday people alike.
However, not everyone who wants them goes to the doctor. Throughout 2022, increased demand for weight loss injections led to global shortages. As a result, some people began to seek these drugs illegally, crossing borders or buying them over the counter without a prescription.
Do hype and hashtags tell the full story? What are the physical, social, and psychological side effects of a miracle? And can all the advertising lead people to do things they definitely shouldn’t? Read the whole story.
— Amelia Tait
Texas is testing new tactics to restrict access to abortion pills online
There has been a quiet shift in the fight against abortion in the US. Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade last June, laws outlawing most abortions have passed in 13 states. Efforts to restrict abortion care have thus far focused primarily on criminalizing medical providers. But increasingly, the battlefield is moving online.
Texas is currently in the process of trying to limit access to abortion pills by cracking down on Internet service providers and credit card processing companies. Earlier this month, Republicans in the state legislature introduced two bills to that effect.
