The “Best” Lie

 

Every year at this time, everyone publishes their “best of” lists for the year. Sure, nobody wants to work very hard over the holidays, that includes most writers and editors and many readers. We all know these lists are just lazy editorial filler for a slow news period. 

But they are also a lie.

An honest headline would be something more like, “Here are the (movies, whiskeys, songs, etc.) we liked the most this year,” but who would read that? Instead, list makers tell not one lie but two, (1) that it is possible to objectively determine “the best,” and (2) they have done the work and here is the result.

At law, "best" claims are considered "puffery," defined as "exaggeration reasonably to be expected of a seller as to the degree of quality of his product, the truth or falsity of which cannot be precisely determined."

Therefore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has determined that puffery does not warrant enforcement action under "truth in advertising" laws. "The Commission generally will not pursue cases involving obviously exaggerated or puffing representations, i.e., those that ordinary consumers do not take seriously."

Sadly, too many people do take them seriously.

So, don't. Listen to the FTC and stop falling for it. There is no “best,” only what you like best.

NOTE: I got even more worked up about this subject back in 2020.