United States of America 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Washington D.C.20580 

November 13, 2023 

Via Federal Express and E-mail 

Mr. Adam Pecoraro 

Dear Mr. Pecoraro: 

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC ") is an independent federal agency whose mission 

is to protect consumers by enforcing laws and rules that promote h"uth in advertising and fair 

business practices, and by educating consumers and businesses about their tights and 

responsibilities. We are writing to express concerns that your marketing practices on Instagram 

and TikT ok may be deceptive or unfair in violation of the FTC Act. 

You posted dietary advice on Instagram and TikTok endorsing the safety of aspaitame. 

In July 1, 2023 posts to Instagram and TikTok, you stated, "Aspaitame is a carcinogen? .... 

This information ... could not be futther from the truth," and "You would have to consume the 

equivalent of over 30 diet sodas, every single day chronically, to see any kind of adverse effects, 

and even then, it wouldn't kill you." You dispai·aged guidelines from the International Agency 

for Reseai·ch on Cancer ("IARC "), an rum of the World Health Organization ("WHO "). Among 

other things, you stated, "There ai·e a few reasons why the IARC should be almost completely 

disregarded," and "Let's stop listening to stupid people. The IARC is basically satire at this 

point." Then, in July 12, 2023 posts to Instagram and TikTok, you stated, "have your diet drinks 

and stop listening to people who don't know what they're talking about .... While it is expected 

that IARC will classify aspaitame as a class 2B carcinogen that doesn't really mean anything at 

all." You again disparaged WHO guidelines regai·ding aspaitame by stating that "this 

infmmation was leaked to Reuters by the IARC, which is not an authority on food additive 

safety." In July 13, 2023 posts to Instagram and TikTok, you stated that "the FDA endorse[ d] 

the WHO's conclusion that aspaitame does not cause cancer," that "Eve1y time the media 

misrepresents the data for clicks and views the conclusion is always the same: that aspartame is 

safe," and that "These [aspartame containing] products ai·e safe." Each of these posts included 

the tag "#safetyofaspaitame." Each lnstagram post is available as both an Instagram Video and 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Adam Pecoraro

November 6, 2023

Page 2

as a Reel. It appears that you were paid by the American Beverage Association (“ABA”) to

make those posts.

The FTC’s Endorsement Guides state that if there is a “material connection” between an

endorser and the marketer of a product – in other words, a connection that might affect the

weight or credibility that consumers give the endorsement – that connection should be clearly

and conspicuously disclosed, unless the connection is already clear from the context of the

communication containing the endorsement. Material connections could consist of a business or

family relationship, monetary payment, or the provision of free products to the endorser. “Clear

and conspicuous” means that a disclosure is difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable) and easily

understandable by ordinary consumers. Consumers should be able to notice the disclosure

easily, and not have to look for it.

We have a number of concerns about the adequacy of your disclosures regarding your

apparent connection to the ABA.

First, your Instagram and TikTok posts of July 1 and July 12 and your TikTok post of

July 13 did not include any disclosure or other indication of your apparent material connection to

the ABA.

Second, although the July 13 Instagram post had disclosures, there was no disclosure in

the video itself. Viewers can easily watch a video without reading disclosures in a post’s text

description. There should be clear and conspicuous disclosures in the videos themselves, for

example, by superimposing much larger text over the videos. In your videos, you made

endorsements audibly, so the disclosures should also have been audible. (If the endorsements

had been made through both visual and audible means, the disclosures should have been made

both in the video’s visual and audible portions).

Third, you relied upon the “Paid partnership” disclosure tool in making your disclosure in

your July 13 Instagram post. The Commission has previously expressed concerns about the

conspicuousness of such built-in disclosure tools alone. We think it is too easy for viewers to miss

seeing the “Paid partnership” disclosure in your posts. (That does not mean that you should not use

such tools in addition to other disclosures).

Fourth, the “#ad” disclosure of your July 13 Instagram post appears on the 16th line of

the post description, making it insufficiently conspicuous. When people view Instagram posts,

longer descriptions are generally truncated, with only the first two or three lines displayed unless

viewers click on the text description. Any required disclosure should be presented without

having to click. We note that an Instagram Reel’s (or TikTok’s) text description is in small print,

at the bottom of the screen, sometimes poorly contrasting, and doesn’t stand out. The

accompanying video usually has many competing elements. Therefore, we do not think that a

disclosure in the text description of such Reels or TikToks is clear and conspicuous.

Finally, even if viewers read the words “Paid partnership with ameribev” and “#ad”

disclosures, they may be inadequate in the context of your post because you may not have
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Adam Pecoraro

November 6, 2023

Page 3

adequately identified the sponsor. Viewers might not understand that the sponsor is promoting

the sale of aspartame or products containing it. Also, many viewers may not understand what

“ameribev” is. Without knowing who the sponsor of the post is, viewers might not be able to

adequately evaluate the weight and credibility of your endorsement.

I am enclosing the Federal Trade Commission’s Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning

Deceptive or Unfair Conduct around Endorsements and Testimonials. The notice of penalty

offenses consists of Commission determinations in prior litigated cases that certain practices are

deceptive or unfair and are unlawful under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. As

set forth in more detail in the notice, these acts and practices include failing to disclose a

connection between an endorser and the seller of an advertised product or service, if such a

connection might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement and if the

connection would not be reasonably expected by consumers. Copies of the case decisions

discussed in the notice are available on the Commission’s website at www.ftc.gov/endorsementnotice-penalty-offenses. In addition, receipt of the enclosed notice puts you on notice that

engaging in conduct described therein could subject you to civil penalties of up to $50,120

per violation.1

We strongly urge you to review your Instagram, TikTok, and other social media posts as

to whether they contain sufficiently clear and conspicuous disclosures of any material

connections. To help guide your review, please see the Endorsement Guides2 and the staff

publication FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking.3 Violations of the FTC Act

may result in legal action seeking a federal district court injunction or an administrative cease

and desist order.

Please notify Cassandra Rasmussen via electronic mail at crasmussen@ftc.gov within

fifteen working days of receipt of this letter of the specific actions you have taken or will be

taking to address FTC staff’s concerns. If you have any questions regarding compliance with the

FTC Act, please contact Ms. Rasmussen by email or at 202-684-0175.

Very truly yours,

Serena Viswanathan

Associate Director

Division of Advertising Practices

Enclosure

1 See 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(B).

2 See 16 C.F.R. § 255 (Jul. 26, 2023), https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapterB/part-255. 3 FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, https://www.ftc.gov/businessguidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking.
Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Deceptive or Unfair Conduct around 

Endorsements and Testimonials 

The Federal Trade Commission has determined that the following acts or practices in the 

use of endorsements and testimonials are deceptive or unfair and are unlawful under Section 5 of 

the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to make claims which represent, expressly or 

by implication, that a third party has endorsed a product or its performance when such 

third party has not in fact endorsed such product or its performance. 1 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice for an advertiser to misrepresent that an 

endorsement represents the experience, views, or opinions of users or purported users 

of the product. 2 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to misrepresent an endorser as an actual 

user, a current user, or a recent user of a product or service. 3 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice for an advertiser to continue to advertise an 

endorsement unless the advertiser has good reason to believe that the endorser 

continues to subscribe to the views presented in the endorsement. 4 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice for an advertiser to use testimonials to make 

unsubstantiated or otherwise deceptive performance claims even if such testimonials 

are genuine. 5 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to fail to disclose a connection between an 

endorser and the seller of an advertised product or service, if such a connection might 

materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement and if the connection 

would not be reasonably expected by consumers. 6 

• It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to misrepresent explicitly or implicitly 

through the use of testimonials that the experience described by endorsers of a 

product or service represents the typical or ordinary experience of users of the 

product or service. 7 

, 57 F.T.C. 717 (1960); 

, 38 F.T.C. 1 (1944); 

, 46 F.T.C. 706 (1950). 

, 103 F.T.C. 110 (1984). 

, 82 F.T.C. 488 (1973). 

, 48 F.T.C. 800 (1952); 

, 33 F.T.C. 662 (1941). 

, 103 F.T.C. 110; , 96 F.T.C. 208 (1980); 

90 F.T.C. 770 (1977), , 605 F.2d 294 (7th Cir. 1979). 

6 , 103 F.T.C. 110. 

1 , 90 F.T.C. 770; , 82 F.T.C. 488 (1973), 85 

F.T.C. 1052 (1975). 

Mytinger & Casselberry, Inc. Ar-Ex Cosms., Inc. A. P. 

W. Paper Co., Inc. Wilbert W. Haase Co., Inc.

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Id. Cliffdale Assocs., Inc.

Nat’l Dynamics Corp.

Cliffdale Assocs., Inc. Macmillan, Inc. Porter & Dietsch, Inc.

aff’d

Cliffdale Assocs., Inc.

Id.; Porter & Dietsch, Inc. Nat’l Dynamics Corp. modified at