Leaders in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer advocacy sent a signed letter to Facebook Inc. today, stating that “inaccurate advertisements” are targeting people on the Facebook app and the Instagram app.

A total of 52 health groups as well as LGBTQ groups sent the letter, which was addressed to Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. The ads in question have been posted by personal injury lawyers who are asking people to come forward if they have suffered any side effects of the HIV prevention pill, “Truvada pre-exposure prophylaxis.”

The lawyers claim it can cause problems relating to bone density and kidney issues, which are side effects listed on the drug’s own website. The complaint, though, is that those side effects have been exaggerated in the ads and that could cause harm.

The letter stated that such ads scare people away from taking the drug, when in fact research has shown that its not only been shown to the safe, but very successful in blocking HIV infections. The ads are being targeted at at-risk people, which the letter said heightens their risk of contracting HIV.

“This issue goes beyond misinformation, as it puts real people’s lives in imminent danger,” the letter. “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that when taken daily, PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV from sex or injection drug use.” The CDC has said the drug can reduce the risk of contracting HIV by 99% if it’s taken daily.

“By allowing these advertisements to persist on their platforms, Facebook and Instagram are convincing at-risk individuals to avoid PrEP, invariably leading to avoidable HIV infections,” said the letter. “You are harming public health.”

Facebook can take down ads if the information in them has been proved to be erroneous by fact-checkers or by people who can provide some expertise on the matter, but a spokesperson for Facebook told various media that the ads don’t violate Facebook’s policies.

“While these ads do not violate our ad policies nor have they been rated false by third-party fact-checkers, we’re always examining ways to improve and help these key groups better understand how we apply our policies,” the spokesperson said.

Photo: Kara Bey/Flickr