Fraudulent labeling
Label fraud refers to the pretense of a specific content with the help of a false or misleading statement of contents on the label . Today's linguistic usage denotes the label of a commodity in the literal sense of the word, in a figurative or abstract sense the "label" of a complex issue (example: a party would miss what its name promises.)
Origin and use
The word label has its linguistic origin in the Middle French language , at the time of the Middle Ages. A special cheat sheet containing instructions on how to behave at a court ceremony was used at this time . So “the etiquette ” was a summary for a complex social behavior.
The word vertigo , in the sense of a (slight) lie, has a much more recent word origin.
The compound word label fraud can only be identified at the end of the 20th century and has been used in three categories since then:
- In the context of a commodity. Colloquially the most common form.
- As a metaphor in a social context: “Not getting what was expected.” There are many regional and temporary expressions in linguistic usage here.
- In the legal sense as a deception maneuver. However, it is not used as a legal term .
Commodity
Basic conflict
Labels are used to provide simplified information about the content and context of an object. In contrast to a detailed data sheet , the label has to find the compromise between comprehensive, correct facts and a short, easily understandable overview. If this simplification is misused, one speaks of “fraudulent labeling”.
The possibility of label fraud is increased by the use of the (goods) label as advertising space. Since this advertising space makes a significant contribution to the sales success of the goods, a conflict situation arises:
- the label is intended to provide a simplified, truthful summary of the contents, and
- the label is supposed to have a promotional function (where the truth is irrelevant).
In parlance, the label is not only used in the literal sense, but also in the sense of “the packaging deceives about the content” (see also the section “Origin and use”).
Methods
There are three ways of fraudulent labeling:
1. Lie : The conscious misinformation about the content.
A typical example was the so-called rotten meat scandal in 2005 and 2006; this made the name “ rotten meat ” popular and has been widespread ever since. Meat with an expired best-before date was not destroyed, but brought back onto the market with falsified information about its best-before date on the labels. Another variant is to mix fresh meat with slaughterhouse waste and low-quality meat. These meat products are provided with labels that only refer to the original, higher quality product.
Another form of this type of fraudulent labeling is the forgery of quality seals, which may only be used if precisely defined quality features are applied to raw materials, manufacturing processes and storage for the manufacture and processing of the goods. The companies that manufacture these goods and are allowed to legally use the seal are continuously checked as members by their own associations and ex officio by specialist authorities for compliance with the conditions on which the seal is based. Goods with these certificates are more expensive than uncontrolled mass-produced goods because of the more complex production, which customers accept, however, if they give these guaranteed quality and manufacturing features priority over price when making a purchase decision . The use of a seal - be it through forgery of the original or through deceptive fantasy seals with no value on the label - thus serves to achieve higher prices without corresponding additional expenditure in the production. Organic seals are popular and well-known on foodstuffs, which are only allowed to carry foodstuffs that come from organic cultivation without modified seeds, artificial fertilization and pest control and thus require more work in their production compared to purely profit-oriented mass cultivation. It is similar for goods that by their name - champagne , Munich white sausages , Parma ham , Parmesan , etc. - refer to a certain region and a region-specific production process and recipe. For many customers, the regional conditions and manufacturing processes as a product feature and quality standard are incentives to buy that cause “free riders” to make dubious false statements.
2. Distortion : The overemphasis or weakening of information.
A typical example is the concealment of a lot of sugar by listing various types of sugar as ingredients . A popular obfuscation method is to put information that is prescribed but reluctant to be mentioned by the manufacturer as small and casual as possible on the label in the "small print" so that it does not catch the eye. On egg cartons can be seen in the countryside against a backdrop that uses the genre "rural idyll" and appropriate production suggests, but not a product of the industrialized usually as an optical Aufmacher chicken factory farming equivalent, which is perhaps in the package. Information about the actual keeping and feeding of the animals is inconspicuous, and often the buyer also needs to know from which code number of the numerical goods code according to the egg identification rules this can be recognized.
3. Glare : Mixing the table of contents with advertising by adapting the form and style.
The sugar content is often played down in advertisements or on packaging by stating that it contains many vitamins and dairy products. Even with expressions that it is a light or sporty diet, the calorie content is masked. In the case of beverages, a fruity taste is indicated, with the actual fruit juice content being minimal.
Use in a social context
Appearance and social behavior
Social groups often have typical appearances manifested by clothing, speech, behavior and symbols. This allows conclusions to be drawn about income, education, professional environment and other influences. The faking of such appearances is called fraudulent labeling.
Examples of this non are homogeneous appearances in which only pure appearances "applied thickly" appear over-emphasized, so by obvious, intrusive presentation of status symbols such as cars, watches, jewelry and other luxury goods. Typical reactions to this behavior are derogatory comments such as “show-off” and “new rich”.
In the workplace, a superior is not legitimized as a credible partner through occasional populist appearances in the factory hall in overalls. You don't just “poach in unfamiliar territories”, you have to “have done your homework” in order to gain recognition in the overall framework of a group, or “stick to your best”. Respectable and informal interaction in and with other social classes excuses a small faux pas , which occasionally reveals a different origin.
Colloquial labels
The colloquial language reacts quickly with buzzwords and phrases to current trends that are "totally in". The contexts behind it stick with old, traditional labels. Even today, cartoonists use stereotypes for social groups that reflect the image of society from the early 20th century. In this genre, women hardly exist - if at all - as leading figures of a class, but in serving functions and victim roles. Dark suit, cigar , melon or cylinders denote the upper class - "big shots", "boss", "upper ten thousand". The little service suit, the handicraft costume or the boiler suit the “little man” and citizens. The sleepyhead labels the authoritarian "German Michel" of the somewhat broader middle class. Worn, poor clothes the "common man". Measured against the real appearance of the 21st century, this is an antiquated visual language, a fraudulent label.
The animal metaphor "grasshoppers" by Franz Müntefering 2004, aimed at greedy investors, immediately became an often gleefully circulated slogan in the sense of the well-known, biblical plague of locusts in connection with baldness, although this type of plague never occurred in Central Europe - due to the climate. The local harmlessness of the grasshoppers as an individual is "left out" in this metaphor, the secondary meaning when using the plural is too stuck in the mind. However, such a choice of words should be viewed critically; With such verbal "labels" people were deliberately labeled "unworthy" and "foreign bodies". Some of those affected reacted indignantly and “not amused”, there are also investors and bankers with different values in their work.
Staged speech labels
In the case of topics that take up a large part of political debates or social concerns, the term fraudulent labeling is used if there are common, more meaningful and non-or less euphemistic terms. By re-labeling with another word, a (positive or negative) rating should be changed. Some of these word creations have become very popular because they generated a lot of media coverage and discussion about the background to the choice of words.
"Ethnic cleansing" ( unword of the year 1992) is a positive reinterpretation in order to distract from the expulsion of ethnic groups including genocide .
Fraudulent labeling with the aim of negative evaluation, the “ rogue state ” is a terrifying demonization . The American government under President George W. Bush used this older word creation so excessively that it became common knowledge, although it is meaningless without a precise definition.
The word creation " minus growth " spread in Germany from the first economic crisis at the end of the 1960s in common parlance. She named a noticeable stagnation in economic development. The term 'economic growth' was still entirely positive connotations (eg, the book was published. Limits to Growth (The Limits to Growth) until 1972; that there is a peak oil are was not yet aware) and express desire goal of a prosperous society and a post-war society , in which baby boom cohorts entered the labor market.
Professional environment
Labeling fraud is when someone uses legally protected professional titles and titles without having successfully acquired the necessary training and additional qualifications. Anyone who commissions and pays for services is interested in ensuring that they also correspond to the level certified by their profession and title. Not endangering your work and its social esteem through dubious practices is also in the interest of those who use their professional title legally and who have acquired titles through recognized further training or research. Even if the motives are different, the correspondence at the heart of the matter is sufficient to classify such “hoaxes” as fraud.
Unprotected terms such as facility manager instead of caretaker leave more leeway , which could possibly be a fraudulent label, because manager , a manager in business and administration, sounds like higher esteem. Someone who is responsible for building services and maintenance and who resolves malfunctions today has to have much higher technical knowledge than the simple job title of caretaker, which follows an old language rule. In terms of appreciation, however, the hierarchy established over centuries still applies here: white collar over boiler suit. However, it is not very helpful to “ennoble” professions with such banalities; conclusions about existing qualifications cannot be drawn. Label fraud in the form of meaningless job information - "Analyst", "Coach", "Consultant", "Representative" are to be mentioned here, but are occasionally referred to as "dubious", "half silly", "grandiose", "has a taste." “(Southern Germany) felt.
Variations and delimitation
There are other terms and variations in the context of the term "fraudulent labeling":
- "Etiquette swindle", a variation in the spelling. Means the same as "fraudulent labeling".
- “Label fraud”, a legal term. Describes a special form of forging documents .
- The etiquette in golf sets up the rules for the behavior of golfers. A “fraudulent label” in this case would be to pretend sporting fairness.
consequences
There are essentially four ways of responding to a fraudulent label:
- The private contempt - often accompanied by derogatory comments or demonstrative disregard.
- The public outrage - mostly in the form of repeated representation in the mass media , but also as a public announcement within an association.
- The sanction - In many areas (for example in association law ) rule violations and their consequences are clearly regulated. There is the possibility of a warning.
- The criminal consequence - in the form of imprisonment or a fine and, under certain circumstances, additional penalties (e.g. professional ban).
All reactions can take place independently of one another, but also together. Every reaction is individual.
See also
literature
- Labels (dizziness)? Labeling and misleading advertising for foodstuffs , Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Economic and Social Policy Department, 2007, ISBN 3-89892-813-6
- Wernfried Maltusch, fraudulent labeling. Power, Makers, Media , Tykve Publishing House, 2000, ISBN 3-925434-95-X
Web links
- Since July 2011, the “Lebensmittelklarheit” portal has been providing information to consumer advice centers and consumer associations about fraudulent labeling of retail food products. http://www.lebensmittelklarheit.de/
- The independent organization Foodwatch also provides information on fraudulent labeling of food products on its website. http://www.foodwatch.de/
- The side of the Kassensturz (TV show) informs from Switzerland: Label swindle
Individual evidence
- ^ The German crooks von Brockhaus, 1862
- ↑ Current example: Stefan Kreutzberger, The Ecological Lie. How to see through the green label fraud. , Econ Verlag, Berlin 2009
- ↑ Example: Hans-Uwe Erichsen / Dirk Ehlers, General Administrative Law , 2005
- ↑ http://www.tagesspiegel.de/wirtschaft/schwindel-in-der-werbung-viele-lebensmittel-taeuschen-nur-vor-gesund-zu-sein/6853144.html
- ↑ http://www.gesundheitlicheaufklaerung.de/werbeluegen-und-etikettenschwindel-der-lebensmittelindustrie
- ↑ Stefan Gose, "It's time for an exit strategy"
- ↑ Ulrich Hahn, "Theses on renouncing violence"
- ^ Rainer Balke, review of "Land ohne Sicht" by Ilan Pappe
- ↑ Newspeak and fraudulent labeling, like politics twisted words ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ "welt-online": fraudulent labeling with purchased doctoral degrees (queried on September 5, 2012)
- ↑ "Is the term building management out of date?" (requested on September 5, 2012) ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.3 MB)
- ↑ Hans-Jürgen Prien, Luther's Business Ethics , 1992
