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Fake News, Misinformation, & Propaganda: False Advertising

Defining and identifying fake news.

False Advertising

Have you ever heard the saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?" Determining what is accurate and what is false can be difficult. The Federal Trade Commission requires that all advertisements in the United States must be truthful and non-deceptive, and are required to have evidence to back up claims. (FTC, 2021). It is important to understand the importance of truth in advertising and how to stop the spread of misinformation.

Internet Resources

Research

Streaming Media

Spotting Fake Advertisments

Perspectives

Trust Us, We're Experts!

The authors unmask the widespread methods industry uses to influence opinion through bogus experts, doctored data, and manufactured facts.

Deceptive Advertising

This is the first book designed to assist behavioral scientists in the preparation of scholarly or applied research regarding deceptive advertising which will ultimately affect public policy in this area. Because there was an inadequate foundation upon which to build a program of research for this topic, a three-part solution has been devised: 1) a review of how deception is viewed and regulated 2) a theory of how consumers process deceptive information 3) a sensitive and consistent means of measuring deceptiveness. This text provides detailed discussions regarding the intersection of law and behavioral science and its application to deceptive advertising. In so doing, it offers a solid foundation upon which to base expanded behavioral research into how consumers are deceived by advertising claims, and what cognitive processes are involved in that deception.

Deception in the Marketplace

This is the first scholarly book to fully address the topics of the psychology of deceptive persuasion in the marketplace and consumer self-protection. Deception permeates the American marketplace. Deceptive marketing harms consumers' health, welfare and financial resources, reduces people's privacy and self-esteem, and ultimately undermines trust in society. Individual consumers must try to protect themselves from marketers' misleading communications by acquiring personal marketplace deception-protection skills that go beyond reliance on legal or regulatory protections. Understanding the psychology of deceptive persuasion and consumer self-protection should be a central goal for future consumer behavior research. The authors explore these questions. What makes persuasive communications misleading and deceptive? How do marketing managers decide to prevent or practice deception in planning their campaigns? What skills must consumers acquire to effectively cope with marketers' deception tactics? What does research tell us about how people detect, neutralize and resist misleading persuasion attempts? What does research suggest about how to teach marketplace deception protection skills to adolescents and adults? Chapters cover theoretical perspectives on deceptive persuasion; different types of deception tactics; how deception-minded marketers think; prior research on how people cope with deceptiveness; the nature of marketplace deception protection skills; how people develop deception protection skills in adolescence and adulthood; prior research on teaching consumers marketplace deception protection skills; and societal issues such as regulatory frontiers, societal trust, and consumer education practices. This unique book is intended for scholars and researchers. It should be essential reading for upper level and graduate courses in consumer behavior, social psychology, communication, and marketing. Marketing practitioners and marketplace regulators will find it stimulating and authoritative, as will social scientists and educators who are concerned with consumer welfare.