The Pro-Masturbation Flyer
Did you see a flyer this year claiming anytime you think about vaping maybe you should masturbate instead? It went viral on social media thanks to right-wing commentators like Erick Erickson who say it’s part of a federal government program being unleashed in U.S. schools. But the flyer is completely fake.
“A friend passed this along. These were hanging in the bathrooms at a local public school. ‘The Real Cost’ is a project of the federal government,” Erickson tweeted on Monday.
The fake flyer reads, “Pleasure yourself with nicotine? Try masturbation instead! Masturbation is a safe and healthy alternative to vaping as a solution to relieve stress. Try it by yourself or with a friend.” It includes the logo of The Real Cost, an anti-tobacco initiative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Strangely, this wasn’t even a new fake when it went viral in 2020. As KMOV4 reported back in February of 2020, the original flyer was created by a high school student in Missouri. The kid placed a couple of his photoshopped posters in the bathroom. Photos of the flyers went viral in 2020 on conservative social media, with people indignant that the government would promote masturbation. History keeps repeating itself, apparently.
