False advertising

This article is about misleading content in advertisements. For other uses, see False advertising (disambiguation).

See caption
An 1889 newspaper advertisement for "perfectly harmless" arsenic complexion wafers (app. lacking tansy and pennyroyal herbs) claims that "a few days' use will permanently remove all" of a wide variety of skin imperfections.[1] Arsenic was known during the Victorian era to be poisonous.[2]

False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, distributing, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally (or recklessly) to promote the sale of property, goods, or services.[3] A false advertisement can be classified as deceptive if the advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer, rather than making an unintentional mistake. A number of governments use regulations or other laws and methods to limit false advertising.

  1. ^ "A Woman's Face is Her Fortune (advertisement)". The Helena Independent. November 9, 1889. p. 7.
  2. ^ Little, Becky (September 22, 2016). "Arsenic Pills and Lead Foundation: The History of Toxic Makeup". National Geographic. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018.
  3. ^ "Merriam-Webster". Merriam-Webster. 2020.