UK warns 'Cool in 90 seconds' portable air conditioners are a scam
This is just another example of our risible two tier advertising regulations. Hard checks for TV, radio, print newspapers yet slop, shite and scams rife online... Cool in 90: the fake portable air conditioners sweeping the Internet www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
ByteSignal12The asymmetry exists because TV/radio have gatekeepers who face liability. Online platforms profit from the ad spend and bear almost none of the legal risk. That's the fix needed.
James D. Worth11We are having cheap, non-functioning tat dumped on us through scam advertising online. Regulate online platforms as publishers, or regulate the advertisers. Preferably both!
Andy Gait6This is the video quoted in the article. youtu.be/2KvGHRSVTUk?...
‘Scientists at NASA have invented a way to completely ignore the rules of thermodynamics…’ You’d have to be pretty thick to believe some of these adverts but there’s a more serious side to it. Who’s paying for the adds and what do they do with the personal data of the people they’ve duped!?
woodcollier.bsky.social5Make the platform the publisher.
Gus Beare4Yup, FB and Insta are flooded with scams like this. It's just diabolical. Seems that all you need to get a scam on those platforms is to pay the fee. There is ZERO due diligence. Criminal.
The prevalence of these ads online at the moment is completely overwhelming, spoiler: no-one has created a tiny, miracle air conditioner that costs £70 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Alex Partridge20I've seen this ads *today* against a national radio station's YouTube page and on the website of another national newspaper. For entirely fake, scam products.
nickequipechasee #TuckFrump12It's a complete and utter failure of ANY regulation of 'anybody' that these Ads are allowed to be shown at all. I don't get them any more because I complained to Google about them, but the idea that 'everyone else' still gets them is utterly shameful for Google, Youtube and everyone else involved.
swingthehamer.bsky.social10If you have even a basic understanding of science, you’ll know that this doesn’t work. And by ‘basic understanding’, I really mean at primary school level.
ClimateNick 🇬🇧 🇯🇵🌏🏳️🌈9I see ads for heaters like this in the winter as well! Something the size of a plug in diffuser claiming to heat the whole room. Idk why ads for fake products are allowed
Arnold Ziffel7“What your HVAC expert doesn’t want you to know!” 🤣🤣🤣🤣
JacquiDesigns6The ads usually start "I've discovered this one weird trick..."
Nicholas [redacted]7I saw one of these ads on YouTube a few weeks ago and immediately googled it because it made no sense. Yep, it’s a scam.
Gregory A. Hargreaves5These little puppies miraculously pump money from your hands into the pockets of their sellers
Matt Thrower4It feels symptomatic of where we are as a society that we've returned to the days of successful snake oil and no-one seems willing or able to do anything about it. Fitting, when Trump is dialing back US politics to Tammany Hall.
LukeBMTB4"It said people should be sceptical of the following: Promises which sound too good to be true" This is life advice, not miracle air conditioner advice.
You astonish me. Do you mean to say I *can’t* sidestep the laws of physics for the low, low price of £29.99? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mr Snodes10You can see how such a convincing product and advert could slip through the eagle eyes of You Tube’s moderators. They’ll be saying that 10 minutes of Tai Chi a day DOESN’T get you that body, next.
George Bass8The only time I would believe ‘Cool in 90 Seconds!’ would be in a trailer for a Nicholas Cage movie where he’s forced to carjack ice cream vans.
Bimblinghill5Letting YouTube get away with 70% of its adverts being scams is unforgivable neglect on behalf of our regulators
Dr Joanne Williams3As ever, the important question to ask is "where does the heat go, and how does it get there?"
LaReyne2I'm subscribed to Stuart's channel, many of us in the comments shared tales of reporting these ads to Youtube & being told there was nothing wrong with them. Myself I accused Youtube of being actively complicit in fraud by continuing to run these despite being challenged by viewers & other youtubers
John Allison37I know how the Youtube ad scam heaters work - they short out and burn down your house. The scam AC units are more subtle and sophisticated. They rely on the natural cooling of your body after it has perished from heat exhaustion or "World Cup Fever" as it used to be known.
Dr Jo Kershaw26I suppose this might explain at least some of the people who insist air con doesn’t work. (Who are of course a very small number, and shouldn’t be confused with people pointing out why mass installation of ac in the UK isn’t a quick fix)
Sam Turner4The interesting question here will be how much impact the ASA will have on these ubiquitous woo slop adverts. My guess is about the same impact one of these boxes will have on your sweaty 32° living room.
I've seen a lot of these ads myself. Many look very naff and AI-generated. We are living in the age of the digital scam, sadly. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Andrew Sissons2My kids get served these constantly. The one for the “pressure washer that is so powerful it’s being banned”, which can also apparently slice logs of wood in half, is especially terrifying…
WillP2"the ASA says..." Shouldn't the ASA do less saying, and more doing? Most of the internet and media ecosystem is funded by selling advertising. If the public learn not to believe online ads, whole industries are at risk. Vital that this stuff is kept regulated and trustworthy.
Steve Fawkes1Yes - and interesting how the power of (mythical) ‘NASA engineers’ lives on as a sales line.
