Social media users have shared what appears to be an advert from the Ad Council that warns how a “toke” of marijuana caused a man to go into a “murderous craze”. The advertisement, however, is a fake and was never created or distributed by the Ad Council.
Examples of posts sharing the image can be seen ( here , here , here ).
The image mimics a legitimate anti-drug advert, but contains many elements that point to it being a hoax.
It firstly uses stills from the movie ‘Blood Rage’, in which the character of Terry smokes marijuana before committing murder ( youtu.be/Gh-VIyaYSfE?t=1358 , graphic warning).
“This Thanksgiving remember the cranberry sauce but forget the Marijuana”, text alongside the stills warns.
“Terry was convinced to take a “toke” of a joint with his friend “just to relax”. Immediately after, Terry killed his friend who had given him the marijuana in a murderous craze. Not so safe, is it?”
There is the advice for the reader: “If you or someone you know is addicted to marijuana, call Domino’s at 215-712-1000, rent a tape and enjoy!”
Whilst these references are apparently satirical, the advert features the Ad Council logo, an organization that creates ad campaigns for non-profits and government agencies.
On social media, this has led some have believe the advert is genuine.
“That "toke" lead [sic] to a murderous craze. Ad council was in they [sic] BAG With this one”, a post sharing the image reads (here).
Ben Dorf, a spokesman for the Ad Council, confirmed to Reuters via email that the posts do not show a legitimate Ad Council advert.
VERDICT
False. The advert is a hoax and was not created by the Ad Council.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
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