One online ad claimed that Jennifer Aniston owed her youthful skin to a wrinkle-smoothing cream. On the website Every Day With Dr. Oz, the celebrity doctor and talk show host Mehmet Oz seemingly talked up a weight-loss pill. And a Men’s Health article reported that a supplement was making actor Jason Statham “jacked.”
But according to the Federal Trade Commission, this reporting and marketing was all untrue. The agency alleges it was part of a vast online network of fake news sites, fake customer testimonials, and fake celebrity endorsements that existed to promote unsubstantiated health claims about more than 40 weight-loss, muscle-building, and wrinkle-reduction products. It apparently worked: People nationwide spent $179 million on these products over a five-year period, the FTC alleges.
What’s more, the agency says, customers who thought they were signing up for “free” and “risk-free” trials were in fact automatically charged recurring monthly fees without their consent.
Three people who ran the promotional network through Tarr Inc., a Del Mar, Calif., company, have agreed to settle the charges, the FTC announced Wednesday. Under a court order, Tarr Inc. must pay the agency more than $6 million, and it is prohibited from using the marketing and sales tactics it had allegedly used. The company did not admit guilt.
Leonard Gordon, an attorney for Tarr Inc., told BuzzFeed News by email, “We’re pleased that the matter has been resolved.”
The FTC’s investigation sheds light on how it says this company appears to have spread unsubstantiated health claims like “LOOK 10 YEARS YOUNGER IN LESS THAN 4 WEEKS” and “30% MORE MUSCLE MASS IN 30 DAYS OR LESS!” across the internet. This breed of advertising has become ubiquitous online in part because it successfully mimics authentic news stories and bypasses traditional banner ads.
Article source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/ftc-tarr-supplement-settlement