Local residents Mary and Ed Ternan, whose 22-year-old son Charlie died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a fake prescription pill, recently announced their family-run nonprofit “Song for Charlie” is launching a national social media awareness campaign to educate young people about the hidden dangers of “Fentapills” —fake prescription pills made of fentanyl sold on the internet.
The initiative titled, “One Pill Can Kill,” is the result of a unique collaboration between “Song for Charlie” and social media platforms featuring original content, digital ads, and PSAs running on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. The ads direct viewers to songforcharlie.org to take the “No Random Pills!” pledge.
“We need to alert the kids – ASAP,” said co-founder Ed Ternan, Charlie’s father. “That requires cooperation from social media platforms, because the internet is where kids are connecting — so it has been our strategy to get them actively involved. We need to make social media our allies, not our adversaries.”
Fentanyl, a cheap and powerful opioid, is the primary driver of the dramatic increase in drug deaths over the past year, according to the CDC. It is also the active ingredient in fentapills, which have now been found in all 50 states, with resulting deaths reported in 42 states, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Safe Medicines.
“We are in a race against time,” said co-founder Mary Ternan. “We want to share this critical information so no parents experience what we’ve been through. If we can reach the kids directly and give them the facts, we might help them make better decisions and saves some lives.”
Tim Mackey, CEO of S-3 Research, a company funded by the National Institutes of Health to develop technology to detect illicit online drug sale activities, said, “Health promotion and education on this crisis is paramount. Educating kids and families about the real dangers of fentanyl is just as important as monitoring platforms for drug activity. They go hand in hand. I applaud Ed and Mary for their ability to engage the tech companies in this critical awareness effort.”
Earlier this year, “Song for Charlie” began working with Snap Inc. to identify ways the tech industry could help combat the growing epidemic with education. Since then, the effort has gained momentum and support from other technology companies, including Facebook and Google.org.
The “Song for Charlie” and the “One Pill Can Kill” advertising campaign will debut on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook with a series of ads. The content is targeted to each platform’s demographic –teens, young adults and parents/teachers. Snapchat, Facebook and Google.org will also contribute digital ad credits and marketing expertise to help amplify the message.
Snapchat’s contribution to this effort is significant as its platform reaches 90% of 13- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. — the same demographic that is frequently victims of fentapills and who are often either experimenting or using pills only occasionally. A “Song for Charlie” PSA was recently featured on Snapchat’s Discover content platform.
To extend the reach of this new campaign, Snap worked with “Song for Charlie” to develop a new Augmented Reality lens that shows a variety of facts on the dangers of fentanyl and links to additional resources. In addition, Snapchat will also run a special episode of its award-winning news show, “Good Luck America,” devoted to the fentanyl epidemic and featuring an interview with Ed Ternan. These efforts are the first in a longer partnership between “Song for Charlie” and the platform, which will include additional in-app education and public awareness initiatives.
Facebook, Google.org and Snapchat are contributing ad credits to run “Song for Charlie” national campaign advertising. Google.org is contributing credits through their Ad Grants Program and is also providing the nonprofit with hands-on support to help educate the public on the dangers of fake prescription pills. Facebook is collaborating with “Song for Charlie” to provide resources and raise awareness through their Emotional Health Hub.
“We are honored to partner with ‘Song for Charlie’ to educate young people on the dangers of counterfeit drugs and fentanyl poisoning. Ed and Mary, and the ‘Song for Charlie’ community, have been at the forefront of this conversation and have been instrumental in this effort to save lives,” said Jennifer Stout, vice president Global Public Policy at Snapchat, Inc. “We look forward to collaborating on additional in-app education initiatives while we continue improving our own capabilities to combat drug dealers and drug-related content online.”
Said Lindsay Elin, vice president of Public Policy and External Affairs at Facebook: “We’re partnering with ‘Song for Charlie’ to give young people more information about the danger posed by illicit and counterfeit drugs sold online. We prohibit these drugs from being sold on Facebook or Instagram and work to remove this content proactively through technology and user reports. We have a number of programs to address the opioid and addiction crisis and are now extending this work by supporting ‘Song for Charlie’ to deter young people from seeking out these dangerous drugs.”
