You say that like western culture is the worst here?
Where is it better? Russia? Where stating that a war is a war can get you in prison? China, where historical events, like 1989 at tianamen square are wiped out? North Korea where everyone cheers up to the beloved genius leader?
Stating that a particular ongoing genocide is a genocide can get you in quite a bit of trouble under "western culture".
I'm not so sure China or DPRK are as different as you make them out to be, and if you've got a point, I'm not so sure it will last more than a few years.
Because western society, especially the American flavor, sees every ad as sacrosanct and necessary for the planet to keep on spinning, while the mere suggestion that maybe we don't need billboards is met with disproportionate vitriol. I mean, someone elsewhere suggested that it would upend the economy if people couldn't shove their marketing copy in your face 24/7. Oh, imagine the horror!
Hacker News also has a, largely, American audience, so we ought not to pretend that we're not mostly talking about America and the west when we have these discussions. "But what about China?" I don't care, I don't live in China, most people here don't live in China. I have a laundry list of criticism of China, but something tells me we're not talking about China.
Advertisement works pretty much the same, whether in the west, as well as the east ( whatever those terms mean anyway). So I would rather like to talk about advertisement in general, how we as humanity can maybe move past it. How to fund online services in a different way, instead of advertisement. Venting about how all is shit, I see as not so productive in making any progress here.
Where is it better? Russia? Where stating that a war is a war can get you in prison? China, where historical events, like 1989 at tianamen square are wiped out? North Korea where everyone cheers up to the beloved genius leader?