- Ads for fake air conditioners plague Facebook and YouTube
- These devices promise high-performance features and claim to be revolutionary
- UK advertising regulator warns you should be skeptical and report them
The UK is experiencing its share of sweltering heatwaves this summer and demand for the best fans and air conditioners has never been higher – but with it also comes a wave of fake air conditioning advertising.
Advertisements for portable air conditioners purportedly “designed by former NASA engineers” and capable of cooling a room “in less than 90 seconds” are being served to consumers on Facebook and YouTube. Portable air conditioners are out of stock almost everywhere – most recently Meaco’s Cirro range – so units from trusted brands are becoming increasingly difficult to find as the UK is gripped by high temperatures.
The air conditioners advertised claim to pack a punch while also having affordable prices, ranging between £70 and £120 according to the BBC. Additionally, these product listings often contain fake customer reviews with overwhelmingly positive comments about performance features.
Civil engineer and content creator Stuart Matthews is just one online persona raising awareness; “If it sounds too good to be true, it’s ‘probably’ not a scam these days, it is certainly a scam,” he shared in a YouTube video.
In one of his most recent unboxing videos, Matthews purchased one of the inexpensive air coolers, taking it apart bit by bit to take a closer look at the inner workings of these devices — and they don’t work the same way as proper air conditioners.
Here’s how to spot a fake
Look on it
The product he demonstrated was sold as a “portable mini air cooler” with a small water tank that can “cool a fairly large room by several degrees very quickly.” Once the machine was taken apart, Matthews found what he described as “cardboard fins” which essentially absorb water from the tank, into which the fan blows air at a very low speed – for which he forked out £70, although he thinks it is worth no more than £5.
With high demand, users in need will often take the first device presented to them, giving companies more room to commit fraud, and now the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is officially warning you. But if you’re struggling to tell the difference between legitimate and misleading adverts, the regulator has issued some advice.
As mentioned, one of the most important things to note is the overuse of reviews and positive comments that report life-changing results. Therefore, if an advertisement claims that a small fan can cool a room in a very short time, be skeptical.
With the advertising shown in Matthews’ video alone, you should also be wary of long stories and bold claims, for example “an ingenious invention disrupting the £5 billion air conditioning industry” – a bold claim for a product no one has heard of.
Additionally, the majority of ads appear to be AI-generated, with inconsistencies such as spelling and grammar errors, which you should also watch out for. If you think you may have come across a false advertisement for an air conditioner, you can file a report on the ASA website.
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