This Brand Will Give $1,000 to Anyone Who Stays Off Social Media Until the Election

What goes best with yogurt for breakfast? According to the American brand Stonyfieldmaybe it’s spending some time away from social media.

With the challenge “Toxic-Free Election” (nontoxic election), the company is encouraging its customers to stay off social media platforms during the month of October, ahead of the US presidential election – and promises to reward 100 participants, who will be chosen through a lottery, with $1,000.

At first glance, yogurt and politics may seem like an unlikely combination, but the company assures us that it makes perfect sense if we look closer.

“It’s part of Stonyfield’s DNA to help consumers avoid toxins in their daily lives,” explains Kristina Drociak, the company’s director of public relations. “We’re always looking for ways to help people ‘detox’ their lives, and this year we’ve found a new way to do that.”

Over its 40 years, Stonyfield, which makes organic yogurt, has promoted initiatives to end the use of pesticides in public parks and to reduce carbon emissions in its own operations.

Your communications team is always looking for creative ideas to help the environment and reinforce the benefits of yogurt. This year, the question arose: what other sources of toxicity can we combat?

During a session brainstormingthe team concluded that, especially during election years, one of the most toxic environments is social media. While these platforms can be a fun way to stay in touch with friends, read the news, and view memes, they often end up becoming an endless source of extremist opinions, morbid humor, and rampant misinformation.

“We thought that if we encouraged people to get off social media in the month leading up to the election, it might improve their lives and maybe contribute a little bit to overall well-being,” Drociak says.

Stonyfield is not intimidated by the idea of ​​talking about politics, but stresses that the campaign is not partisan.

One recent study conducted by computer scientists at Cornell University and the University of California shows that people tend to interact more with polarizing content and that Twitter’s algorithms (currently X) increasingly promote posts that generate anger.

The study analyzed tweets displayed to nearly a thousand people and identified a strong emphasis on emotionally appealing content that provoked intense reactions.

Content creators across multiple platforms often use so-called “ragebaits” – posts that inflame the public – as a way to increase engagement and the number of comments. Until 2021, Facebook engineers amplified the reach of posts that received more angry emojis.

Instead of telling people to avoid heated discussions, Stonyfield is encouraging its customers to stay off social media in the month leading up to the U.S. presidential election by offering cash rewards.

Interested parties can register at brand websitepledging to stay away from Meta platforms during the month of October. The company will randomly select 100 people to receive $1,000.

Stonyfield will take participants at their word and will not monitor their social media activity. As long as they try to reduce their usage, or at least reflect on it, everyone wins.

The manufacturer is not intimidated by the idea of ​​talking about politics, even though brands such as Disney, Target and Bud Light have faced backlash and boycotts in recent years for this type of approach. But it emphasizes that the campaign does not have a partisan bias.

“We’re not telling you who to vote for,” Drociak says. “But Stonyfield will always say: vote for climate.”