World News Headlines November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling 0 No, your pet pics on Insta aren’t helping to plant trees 0 0000 0 0 more No, your pet pics on Insta aren’t helping to plant trees November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling now playing Transferring money from UAE abroad: what are my cheapest options November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling WIN With Nespresso This Mother’s Day November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling NBA Playoffs 2022: A Casual Fan's Guide to the Postseason November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling Best New Climbing Gear of 2022 November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling A Local Weekend Travel Guide to Austin, Texas November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling First Drive: 2022 Range Rover Ups the Luxury SUV Experience November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling Most Stylish Rain Jackets, Parkas, and Trench Coats for Men November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling EU eyes Russian oil import ban as Moscow strikes western Ukraine November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling World-class Clark Int’l Airport opens new 110,000 square-meter passenger terminal November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling PCG: Bodies of 5 children who drowned in Taal Lake found November 10, 2021 Under One Ceiling No, your pet pics on Insta aren’t helping to plant trees If you’ve looked at a single Instagram Story in the past 24 hours, you’ve likely seen it: a pet photo, along with the Add Yours thread that reads “We’ll plant one tree for every pet picture.” Those pet photos probably aren’t planting any trees. The Instagram account Plant A Tree Co., @plantatreeco, admitted in an Instagram post that they were behind the anonymous tree planting post. They said they deleted it after 10 minutes because they “didn’t have the capabilities & resources to keep our end of the post.” But even after an original post is deleted, others can still share it. Currently, there are over 4 million shares of the Add Yours thread, but, because Plant A Tree Co. deleted their post so early, no Instagram users can click back to see who posted it originally. SEE ALSO: Best indoor plants for people who suck at taking care of plants And that’s a problem — because Plant A Tree Co. might not be working entirely above board. The company sells necklaces, and each necklace sold is a tree planted, or money donated to elephants, or some other causes. According to their Instagram, the causes change pretty often. Their website doesn’t have much information about who runs the brand, or how the necklace/donation system works. And their Instagram account looks more like an algorithmic dream for anyone who likes animals than a jewelry business page. Plant A Tree Co. did not immediately respond to an interview request. They did, though, ask Instagram to plant the trees for them. Plant A Tree Co. sent a DM to Instagram head Adam Mosseri and posted it on their story asking him if he, and all of Instagram, would “be willing to help us plant 4 million trees for all the people who shared a picture of their pets. We think it’s only fair, since Instagram let it spread after we deleted the post.” Your move, Mosseri. This isn’t the first time Plant A Tree Co., which boasts over a million followers, has come under fire for potentially scamming users on Instagram. In January, the account said it would donate to charities and plant trees in response to the Australia bush fires if users followed them and reposted their content. But, according to HuffPost, they also “aggressively urged” people to buy merchandise on their website, and there was no proof that the proceeds actually went to charity, according to HuffPost. They also reported that Plant A Tree Co. has done this many times before, and just erased their Instagram posts and started over. But Plant A Tree Co. said at the time that they made a $3,173.30 donation to Australia’s NSW Rural Fire Service, and they also have a story highlight on their account that is supposed to provide proof of donations. The Add Yours thread appears to no longer work on Instagram, although the platform didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. For what it’s worth, Plant A Tree Co. is now trying to raise $1 million for @treesforthefuture, an organization that is dedicated to planting trees. However, Trees for the Future posted on their Instagram stories that they are not affiliated with Plant A Tree Co. and urged their followers to donate at their website instead of Plant A Tree Co.’s Instagram account. The bottom line is that, no, your animal pictures probably didn’t plant any trees. But you can always donate to organizations that do plant trees, like Trees For The Future. And, please, for me personally, keep posting your pet pics. Mashable has reached out to Instagram for comment, and we’ll update this post if we hear back. Related Related posts: Libya calls for US, EU sanctions on Russian mercenaries, backers The best weird social distancing tech of 2020 so far tags: RSS Feed World News 0000 0 0 previous World on track for 2.4C of global warming after latest pledges - analysts next Meet the giant Home Depot skeleton's holiday cousin, the giant Home Depot nutcracker
