As wildfires continue to burn all around Los Angeles, influencers have emerged to promote sales of their own, highly specific solutions to the crisis. With smoke filling the air of many neighborhoods, the wellness machine has sprung into action, promoting tinctures, detox products, essential oils, parasite cleanses, and even raw milk as “treatments” for its effects.
The fires began in earnest on Tuesday, January 7. By that Thursday, Mallory DeMille, a correspondent for the Conspirituality podcast, says she noted an “immediate influx” of people promoting products on Instagram and TikTok by trying to tie them to the fires. The situation, DeMille says, is “heartbreaking and really irresponsible.”
In [an] Instagram video, DeMille outlined the ways that wellness influencers are … “trying to capitalize” on the wildfires and their potential negative health effects. Many focus on the impact of wildfire smoke on people’s lungs, and suggest potential “treatments,” including supplements, powders, and essential oils, alongside often-cited “detox” tools like drinking apple cider vinegar or taking activated charcoal.
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