Concepts

Concepts

Astroturfing: Fake Grassroots Marketing, How to Spot It, and What the FTC Says

Last updated: April 25, 2026 Astroturfing is marketing that disguises brand-sponsored messaging as independent consumer enthusiasm or grassroots support. The name comes from AstroTurf — artificial grass that simulates the real thing. In consumer products, astroturfing typically involves paid influencers without disclosure, employees posting as ordinary consumers, and manufactured social media

Concepts

Greenwashing: What It Is, What the FTC Green Guides Require, and How to Spot It

Last updated: April 25, 2026 Greenwashing is the practice of making misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or company practice. It includes vague "eco-friendly" labels, fabricated certifications, unsubstantiated carbon-neutral claims, and imagery implying natural origins when products are synthetic. The FTC'

Concepts

Fake Reviews: How Common They Are, How to Spot Them, and What the Law Says Now

Last updated: April 21, 2026 Fake reviews are fabricated or manipulated consumer testimonials designed to mislead buyers about a product's quality, popularity, or legitimacy. They include AI-generated reviews, paid reviews from non-customers, insider reviews without disclosure, and suppressed negative reviews. The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

Concepts

Patent vs. Trademark: The Difference That Determines If a Product Claim Is Real

Last updated: April 21, 2026 A patent protects a novel invention; a trademark protects a name. Brands exploit the confusion between the two to imply technological innovation when they have registered only a name. The distinction is precise in law and free to verify, but the ambiguity is profitable for

Concepts

What Is a Proprietary Blend? The Legal Meaning and Why It Matters

Last updated: April 20, 2026 A proprietary blend is a combination of multiple ingredients listed on a supplement or product label as a single combined weight, without disclosing the individual amount of each ingredient. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) permits this labeling format, which means

Concepts

Sciencewashing: What It Is, How to Spot It, and Why It Works

Last updated: April 20, 2026 Sciencewashing is the use of clinical-sounding language, technical terminology, or cherry-picked data to make ordinary products appear scientifically advanced when they are not. It typically involves inventing proprietary names for commodity materials, citing internal studies as independent research, and invoking scientific concepts that sound authoritative