On Facebook, Fake Stories Use Fox News Hosts to Hawk Dubious CBD Products
A round of fictitious stories masquerading as news articles from Fox News — invoking the names and faces of prominent hosts on the channel — and other outlets have been used in recent weeks to hawk dubious products through paid Facebook advertisements.
Ads on the social media platform featuring the faces of various Fox News figures have taken users to false headlines, topping deceptive full-page “stories,” such as:
- “Laura Ingraham in the Hot Seat with Big Pharma Following Latest Business Venture.”
- “Big Pharma In Outrage Over Jeanine Pirro’s Latest Business Venture – She Fires Back With This!”
- “Fox News Cutting Ties With Sean Hannity Over Breach of Contract?”
But, as we said, the headlines are bunk, and are actually ads that wrongly associate the network’s figures with various cannabidiol, or CBD, products and, in one case, a male enhancement drug. Facebook does not permit advertisers to promote such CBD products.
We reached out to
