Will The Fake News Sites Promoting Acai Berry Weight Loss Hold up in Court

Posted on FTC Site-FTC Seeks to Halt 10 Operators of Fake News Sites from Making Deceptive Claims About Acai Berry Weight Loss Products

Internet Marketers Falsely Claim Endorsement from ABC, Fox News, CBS, CNN, USA Today, and Consumer Reports, FTC Alleges

Will the fake news sites hold up in court? The Federal Trade Commission is requesting federal courts to temporarily halt the allegedly deceptive tactics of 10 operations using fake news websites to market acai berry weight-loss products.  The FTC seeks to permanently stop this misleading practice and has asked courts to freeze the operations’ assets pending trial.

According to the FTC, the defendants operate websites that are meant to appear as if they belong to legitimate news-gathering organizations, but in reality the sites are simply advertisements aimed at deceptively enticing consumers to buy the featured acai berry weight-loss products from other merchants.

The FTC complaints allege that typical fake news sites have titles such as “News 6 News Alerts,” “Health News Health Alerts,” or “Health 5 Beat Health News.”  The 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 seen on these networks.

An investigative-sounding headline on one such site proclaims “Acai Berry Diet Exposed:  Miracle Diet or Scam?”  The sub-headline reads, “As part of a new series:  ‘Diet Trends:  A look at America’s Top Diets’ we examine consumer tips for dieting during a recession.”  The article that follows purports to document a reporter’s first-hand experience with acai berry supplements – typically claiming to have lost 25 pounds in four weeks.

“Almost everything about these sites is fake,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.  “The weight loss results, the so-called investigations, the reporters, the consumer testimonials, and the attempt to portray an objective, journalistic endeavor.”  Get the full story here.