back to article Blog network must label promo content under OFT glare

Consumer protection watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has forced a network of bloggers to make it clear when companies are paying it for coverage. The OFT investigated Handpicked Media under consumer protection laws. The company operates a network of sites purporting to offer editorial coverage of fashion, beauty, …

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  1. John Lilburne

    Who'd have thought that ...

    ... blogging sites were full of underhand slimeballs.?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seriously?

    "The integrity of information published online is crucial"

    #chuckles#

    "We expect online advertising and marketing campaigns to be transparent"

    #rolls on the floor#

    Stop it, you're killing me!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Really?

    The paid for blog crowd must really be quaking in their boots at the news the OFT is really on their case! At this rate they'll all have had their collars felt by 2810.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    So is Lester.....

    ...going to finally admit he is paid for by American defence contractors...

  5. MinionZero
    Headmaster

    More education is the answer

    @"marketing practices that do not disclose they include paid-for promotions are deceptive under fair trading laws"

    That's totally true, but unfortunately there is no way to enforce such a rule to stop deceptive marketers who will continue to find ever more ways to lie to people to manipulate them. There is however a way to deal with this kind of lying behaviour of some people in society.

    TEACH THE ENTIRE POPULATION MORE CRITICAL THINKING!

    That way, *everyone* will *FINALLY* fully grasp the idea that some people *relentlessly lie* (not just the occasional lie, they lie relentlessly) all to get their own way, because its currently an up hill battle with some people to get this idea into their overly idealistic heads. Too many people do not see the liars for what they are, because they do not use enough critical thinking, such as for example following the money as they say, to highlight warning signs of liars.

    We have this lying problem with the lies of marketers, as this news shows.

    We also have this lying problem with the lies of Politicians.

    We also have this lying problem with the lies of the cult leaders.

    All of them seek to manipulate others for their own gain. When does it end. The entire population needs to be taught far more critical thinking, because our rich and powerful will never want it and so never allow or agree to educate the population, to then be more ready to catch liars, because more critical thinking undermines the leaders ability to lie. Don't ever forget the lessons of history, where many leaders wanted to keep the entire population uneducated, just so the leaders could get away with whatever they liked. It shows they wanted to deceive the entire population and their kind still do! ... as Wikileaks keeps on showing us!. The rich and powerful are relentless liars because that helps them get what they want and so that gives them an advantage over people who don't lie, so the liars win and dominate in society. More education is the answer.

  6. Cosmo
    Paris Hilton

    Was it just me...

    ...who read that as "Blog network must label porno content under OFT glare"?

    Paris... because she's good at labelling porn

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