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April 19th, 2011
FTC Seeks to Shut Down Fake News Site Operators
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced today that it filed lawsuits against ten marketers, alleging that they used fake news websites to market their acai berry weight-loss products. The FTC is seeking court orders to halt the advertising and freeze the defendants' assets pending trial.
The FTC alleges that the defendants are operating websites that are meant to appear as if they belong to legitimate news-gathering organizations. According to the FTC, the sites are simply advertisements in disguise, which are aimed at enticing consumers to buy the featured acai berry weight-loss products. The complaints allege that the fake news sites have titles such as "News 6 News Alerts," "Health News Health Alerts," and "Health 5 Beat Health News". The FTC charges that the Web sites often include the names and logos of major media outlets (such as ABC, Fox News, CBS, CNN, USA Today, and Consumer Reports) and falsely represent that the reports on the sites have been featured there. The FTC also alleges that some of the marketers' websites include phony testimonials and reader comments.
The FTC has issued a new consumer alert to help consumers recognize and avoid deceptive claims made by fake news sites.
If you have any questions about the FTC's announcement, or other advertising law issues, please contact Jeffrey A. Greenbaum at (212) 826 5525 or jgreenbaum@fkks.com or any other member of the Frankfurt Kurnit Advertising Group. For more alerts and general announcements from our firm, follow us on Twitter.
Read full FTC press release - "FTC Seeks to Halt 10 Operators of Fake News Sites from Making Deceptive Claims About Acai Berry Weight Loss Products".
Other Advertising Law Alerts
What the Advertising Industry Can Learn from Kim Kardashian’s Settlement with the SEC
On October 3, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it entered into a $1.26 million settlement with Kim Kardashian over her social media promotion of the EMAX token without disclosing payment she received from token issuer, EthereumMax. The matter provides important lessons for advertisers. Read more.
October 10 2022
Get Ready for California’s New “Automatic Renewal” Rules
California recently amended its Automatic Purchase Renewals law. The amended statute - effective July 1st -- require marketers to provide consumers of automatic renewal or continuous service offers with more information and easier ways to terminate. Read more.
June 22 2018
“Made in the U.S.A.” Claims Continue to be Scrutinized
In 2016, California amended Section 17533.7 of the California Business and Professions Code ("Section 17533"), liberalizing the standard for selling products labeled "Made in U.S.A" to California consumers. Read more.
June 4 2018
