Celebrities to face penalties for false advertising

Nguyen Thanh Hoa, head of the Department of Electronic Information under the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, said during a press conference Thursday that the governmental agency had been closely following social media users in order to spot fake news. Celebrities’ false advertisements were also classified as such, according to him.

Nguyen Thanh Hoa, head of the Department of Electronic Information under the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, during a press conference on October 5, 2023. Photo by An Phuong

"The Ministry of Information and Communications has been working with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to complete a white list and a black list," he said.

"The black list includes artists that have violated the laws [with activities including falsely advertising]. We recommend advertisers not to collaborate with or support those names, to build a more healthy advertisement environment."

He added that the HCMC Department of Information and Communications had proposed a plan to the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, which suggested that accounts of such violators be banned from social media platforms.

More regulations on punishments for such violators were planned to be completed by the end of this year, he said.

Lam Ngo Hoang Anh, chief officer of the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports, said authorities had been working on further spreading the code of conduct for artists.

According to him, the code of conduct ruled that artists "are obliged to warrant that the information they publish about the product’s benefits and characteristics is honest, correct, and clear" when advertising a product.

They are also required to be extremely careful when promoting healthcare, education, and environmental products.

Many celebrities have been discovered to be involved in false advertisements over recent years, angering the public.

Actress Nguyen Tri Cat Tuong admitted on September 24 that one of the advertisements in which she was featured exaggerated the benefits of the advertised milk product by saying that it could replace diabetes medication.

Actress Nguyen Tri Cat Tuong. Photo from Tuong's Instagram

The 2006 Miss Vietnam Mai Phuong Thuy also apologized to the public in July 2021 for promoting a weight loss product that had its license revoked.

Actress Hong Van apologized to the public in June 2021 for exaggerating the health benefits of a herbal tablet.

She clarified that she was also a victim as she had bought the pills for her family, and promised to be more careful in the future, while suggesting her colleagues learn from her mistakes.