Truth in Advertising
On the government website concerning the laws about truth in advertising it says:
Where do we see false claims that are attempting to attract our attention. Well, let's start at the top. Trump says things that are false virtually everyday. According to the law, ads (and Trump is all about advertising his brand) must be "truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence." Have we ever heard Trump say one thing that could be considered evidence to back up his claims. Should the statements of the president of the United States be held to lower standards than an advertisement?
Where was the Federal Trade Commission when more than a billion false accounts on Facebook were pumping false information into the data stream of 2.3 billion legitimate users? Facebook officials deleted those billion false accounts this year which means that one third of the accounts during our last election cycle were generating false advertising meant to assist in electing officials supportive of the creators of the accounts, most of whom were apparently Russian. This Facebook storm of false information is clearly advertising with the intention of supporting certain candidates and creating divisions within our populace. The FTC failed to respond to a national threat.
For years we didn't have broadcast television in our house and almost still don't. We made that decision not because of the content, but because of the advertising. Advertising carries messages far more destructive than the words that are used. The images often depict stereotypes of appearance, race, and gender that carry messages subliminally. For two years I have been watching professional basketball, the first broadcast TV in decades, and the ads are worse than ever. Thank you Marshall McLuhan.
Today, the issue for all of us is what information to trust and what to ignore, what is an advertisement that is only telling part of the story or is a total lie and what is a well reasoned, carefully thought out argument supported with verifiable information. Apparently a great many people in our country are unable to separate fact from fiction. Supposedly we have a government agency that is supposed to help us with that. This agency is the Federal Trade Commission who is charged with overseeing truth in advertising. It is not happening.
Many of you will think that politics is immune from oversight by the FTC. And you might be right from a strictly legal point of view. But should our elected officials have a lower standard of communication than an ad agency? Politicians argue for their point of view. They give their side of the argument, they attempt to convince their opponents that their view of things is correct. They exaggerate and embellish but they should not cross the line into lying, as our president has done. To quote the charge of the FTC one more time, we should hope the arguments by our politicians "must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence."
Many people seem to just believe what they are told. Skepticism is on the wane. It is time for all of us to become non-believers in the stuff we read, see and hear on public media. It is time for all of us to demand support for the opinions expressed, support in the form of verifiable information. The FTC will never be able to keep up with storm of false information being generated so it is our responsibility to not allow ourselves and our friends and family to get taken in by advertising. On this issue Trump is correct. Fake news is to be avoided. However, in the case of Trump, he is producing the fake news in an attempt to influence all of us to ignore the truth of his incompetence pointed out by the mainstream press. What a situation! Wouldn't it be interesting to see the FTC clamp down on the president for his stream of false advertising. We can only hope. Until then we must do the sorting of fact from fiction for ourselves.
When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.What constitutes an ad? According to the website of legal definitions:
Advertising is the act or practice of attracting public notice and attention.So where is the Federal Trade Commission when we need them? The newspapers have been filled with evidence of false claims that are attempting to attract the attention of voters. Anyone who claims that politics is not a business needs to explain the enormous amounts of money that are being spent in electing officials who will carry out an agenda helpful to donors.
Where do we see false claims that are attempting to attract our attention. Well, let's start at the top. Trump says things that are false virtually everyday. According to the law, ads (and Trump is all about advertising his brand) must be "truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence." Have we ever heard Trump say one thing that could be considered evidence to back up his claims. Should the statements of the president of the United States be held to lower standards than an advertisement?
Where was the Federal Trade Commission when more than a billion false accounts on Facebook were pumping false information into the data stream of 2.3 billion legitimate users? Facebook officials deleted those billion false accounts this year which means that one third of the accounts during our last election cycle were generating false advertising meant to assist in electing officials supportive of the creators of the accounts, most of whom were apparently Russian. This Facebook storm of false information is clearly advertising with the intention of supporting certain candidates and creating divisions within our populace. The FTC failed to respond to a national threat.
For years we didn't have broadcast television in our house and almost still don't. We made that decision not because of the content, but because of the advertising. Advertising carries messages far more destructive than the words that are used. The images often depict stereotypes of appearance, race, and gender that carry messages subliminally. For two years I have been watching professional basketball, the first broadcast TV in decades, and the ads are worse than ever. Thank you Marshall McLuhan.
Today, the issue for all of us is what information to trust and what to ignore, what is an advertisement that is only telling part of the story or is a total lie and what is a well reasoned, carefully thought out argument supported with verifiable information. Apparently a great many people in our country are unable to separate fact from fiction. Supposedly we have a government agency that is supposed to help us with that. This agency is the Federal Trade Commission who is charged with overseeing truth in advertising. It is not happening.
Many of you will think that politics is immune from oversight by the FTC. And you might be right from a strictly legal point of view. But should our elected officials have a lower standard of communication than an ad agency? Politicians argue for their point of view. They give their side of the argument, they attempt to convince their opponents that their view of things is correct. They exaggerate and embellish but they should not cross the line into lying, as our president has done. To quote the charge of the FTC one more time, we should hope the arguments by our politicians "must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence."
Many people seem to just believe what they are told. Skepticism is on the wane. It is time for all of us to become non-believers in the stuff we read, see and hear on public media. It is time for all of us to demand support for the opinions expressed, support in the form of verifiable information. The FTC will never be able to keep up with storm of false information being generated so it is our responsibility to not allow ourselves and our friends and family to get taken in by advertising. On this issue Trump is correct. Fake news is to be avoided. However, in the case of Trump, he is producing the fake news in an attempt to influence all of us to ignore the truth of his incompetence pointed out by the mainstream press. What a situation! Wouldn't it be interesting to see the FTC clamp down on the president for his stream of false advertising. We can only hope. Until then we must do the sorting of fact from fiction for ourselves.
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