Erick Erickson Falls For Joke ‘Masturbation’ Flyer, Claims Federal Government Is Behind It

On Monday night, conservative pundit Erick Erickson tweeted out a flyer purporting to be part of The Real Cost, an anti-tobacco campaign developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The top of flyer reads, “Pleasure yourself with Nicotine? Try masturbation instead!”

Erickson claimed a buddy had flagged the flyer. “These were hanging in the bathrooms at a local public school,” he tweeted. “‘The Real Cost’ is a project of the federal government.”

The flyer further says, “Masturbation is a safe and healthy alternative to vaping as a solution to relieve stress. Try it by yourself or with a friend.”

Erickson may want to be more discerning next time, or at least surround himself with more discerning friends who won’t claim these flyers were posted in a school at the behest of the federal government. As Mediaite’s Senior Editor asked, “How does one assume that is real?”

Indeed, the flyer is very much a gag. In February 2020, one mischievous high schooler in Missouri named Dylan Deering decided he would post a parody of a Real Cost flyer he had seen on the internet, which is what this appears to be.

“I remembered this poster I saw. It was a fake anti-vape poster. In reality it was an anti-vaping poster but not a real message,” said Deering. “I decided oh, I’ll replicate that and go put it in the bathroom.”

The school suspended Deering for 10 days.

As for Erickson, again, “How does one assume that is real?”

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