I think there's a semi organic (Semi organic in that it is organically inspired by older tobacco advertising) thing about cigarettes being sexy on the Internet, I don't think it's astroturfing. I don't think all these queer posters are bought by Phillip Morris.

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 13 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Semi organic in that it is organically inspired by older tobacco advertising

I don't watch much broadcast tv so I can't comment on it, but Netflix shows have been pushing smoking for a while. The latest anime season has a couple shows that put smoking at the forefront. It's not just old advertising, the smoke machine is alive and well in modern media.

[–] EmmiLime@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The latest anime season has a couple shows that put smoking at the forefront.

I've noticed more manga depicting smoking as "cool", "mysterious" or "sexy" and like.. no? That's fucking gross no thanks. At least that chain-smoker catwoman anime seems to put it in a very negative light? (I forgot the name of it)

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, it really does feel like it's on the rise lately. Like an oftentimes unnecessary addition.

[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

That's because it isn't. Well, at least it isn't anymore or less than it usually was. Smoking has become a 'hot-girl' habit, something that indicates that you are 'a mature adult'.

All nonsense, of course, it is just fun to rip cigs while drinking, and nicotine addiction fucking sucks.

[–] scylla@hexbear.net 6 points 2 days ago

This has been a thing for a decade at least, I think what's being seen is the dip in the vaping fad among tobacco users.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 4 points 2 days ago

The other day, I looked into who owns Fortune, who publish articles with a left-lib slant, using provocative language. Turns out it's a holding company controlled by a single billionaire family with interests in agribusiness, among other things. They absolutely do believe in "no such thing as bad publicity," especially when it sells, and are certainly mocking us.