According to an article by ABC News, the Lifestyl- Lift Company has been fined $300,000 by the New York Attorney General for posting false reviews of their facelift procedures on message boards online. According to the article:
Cuomo's investigation revealed internal emails in which employees were encouraged by company executives to take spare time during the day to write the reviews and post to message boards. "Put your wig and skirt on and tell them about the great experience you had," read one.
In some cases, the employees also created entire websites that claimed to independently review the company's procedures in order to mislead consumers. Cuomo's case was based on New York and Federal statutes designed to protect consumers. His office claimed that astroturfing constituted "deceptive commercial practices, false advertising, and fraudulent and illegal conduct," according to the statement released Tuesday.
For more information, see ABC News and arstechnica.com.
Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:
5 comments:
Tacky, tacky, but not at all surprising. I see so many fake reviews on RateMDs. One or more persons will leave a negative and then all these insane postives will appear, usually having the same sentence structure, phrasing. etc. I see obvious fake reviewers on the forums all the time as well. (I think I'm on every beauty/cosmetic surgery forum in existence, so I have lots of experience there...) Many of the product reviews are also fake.
Thanks for posting this as I think a lot of people out there need to know the importance of checking a surgeon out properly before undergoing treatments or procedures.
No surprise. A bad operation based on lofty and fraudulent claims performed by physicians often with questionable
qualifications.
As a sidenote about Dysport, I think the verdict is still out about duration compared to Botox. As for earlier onset, who cares. As for price point, probably not much different.
Rich, I would disagree with the price point. Most Botox users will stay with what they are comfortable with, however I do believe there are a lot of people who will consider trying Dysport knowing it's going to save them $25-100 per treatment. Hey, where's my MAPS letter?
I do Botox approx 3 times per year (yes, it wears off between visits). I would switch to Dysport if the price difference were $100, but not for $25.
i think its wise to give penalties or fines to those internet marketers especially related to those who are spreading false news/reviews about healths.
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