Facebook removed personal injury ads that contained misleading information about medication designed to prevent the spread of HIV. Doctors and public health experts have been concerned for years about the risks posed by similar ads from personal injury lawyers.

‘these types of ads have been ignored for so many years,’ says Liz tippett, a professor studying drug injury ads at the University of Oregon school of law.

Lawyers spend millions advertising lawsuits that claim people were injured by a drug or medical device company’s products. These ads are often on television and serve as a way to bring in new clients. Most ads do n’t tell viewers to talk with a doctor, and some do n’t disclose that they’re sponsored by lawyers.

The ads were created by personal injury lawyers bringing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies that make the medicine prep. Advocates warned that the ads scared patients away from the preventative drugs, which are considered highly effective by the Centers for Disease Control.

Research shows that these types of personal injury ads make people more likely to think a drug or medical device is risky. In 2017, the US House Judiciary Committee held hearings on the advertising practices. In 2016, the American Medical Association called for ads to include warnings that patients should speak to doctors about any concerns they have.

Before this point, ads typically did n’t target drugs that were as important for public health as prep.’it’s never reached the point that a community of patient activists would become alarmed,’ said Lars Noah, law professor at the University of Florida.

The response to these ads has also clearly focused on patient harm, says tippett.’this is the first really clear example of seeing consumer advocacy as the response,’ she says.

The placement of these ads on Facebook brings up additional concerns not seen with television ads. It’s not clear in many cases that the ads are sponsored by lawyers.

‘lawyers have been trying to figure out how to get these ads online for a while,’ says Jesse King, assistant professor of marketing at Weber State University.

Social media may have made it easier for the community responding to these particular ads to mobilize.’there’s more potential accountability because there’s a paper trail,’ tippett says.

Counter publicity may help to minimize or mitigate the impact ads have on perceptions of drug risk, research shows. Groups can also run counter ads to counteract drug injury ad messaging.