# A Call for Broadening the Analysis of Corporate Political Activities: Insights From Social Media as a Commercial Determinant of Health: Comment on "Corporate Political Activity: Taxonomies and Model of Corporate Influence on Public Policy"

## TL;DR

This paper argues for expanding the study of corporate political activities to include the social media industry's impact on health through marketing and misinformation.

## Contribution

The paper introduces the social media industry as a new focus for analyzing corporate political activities and their health implications.

## Key findings

- The social media industry uses strategies like lobbying and misinformation to hinder regulatory efforts.
- Digital marketing and social polarization are key health concerns linked to social media activities.

## Abstract

Corporate political activities of unhealthy commodity industries have been identified and categorised in terms of framing and action strategies. This commentary discusses the relevance of systematically and comprehensively applying these taxonomy models to other commercial determinants of health, with special attention to their joint activities and health implications. The social media industry is an especially relevant case to be analysed due to its direct and indirect health effects, namely those associated with digital marketing of unhealthy commodities, mis and disinformation, and social polarisation. Interferences in research, lobbying, and corporate social responsibility actions are examples of the strategies used by this industry to prevent and obstruct regulators’ efforts, limiting the control of the marketing of unhealthy products, the spread of mis/disinformation, and the promotion of violent speech and attitudes.