The Federal Trade Commission wants to stop what it calls deceptive tactics of 10 operations using fake news websites to market acai berry weight-loss products.
According to the FTC, the websites are meant to appear as if they belong to legitimate news-gathering organizations -- such as ABC, Fox News, CBS, CNN, USA Today -- but in reality the sites are advertisements aimed at deceptively enticing consumers to buy acai berry weight-loss products from other merchants.
“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.”
The FTC will ask the courts to bar the allegedly deceptive claims and wants refunds for consumers. It charges the companies made false and unsupported claims that the acai berry supplements will cause rapid weight loss, and deceptively represented that their websites were objective news reports.
For more information on the FTC action regarding acai berry weight-loss claims, click here.
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