Dating advert banned over ‘fake’ science

AN ADVERT by an online dating service has been banned after its scientific claims were dismissed as little more than “fake news”.

The billboard advert for eharmony claimed that it uses a “scientifically proven matching system”. However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the service could offer no evidence that its customers had a significantly greater chance of finding lasting love.

Lord Lipsey, who lodged the complaint and is joint chairman of the allparty Parliamentary Group on Statistics, said: “Phrases like ‘scientifically proven’ should be confined to claims that are just that, not used in crude puffery designed to lure in those longing for love. This is a new form of fake news, which the ASA has rightly slapped down.”

The advert, on a London Underground platform, said the service’s “scientifically proven matching system decodes the mystery of compatibility and chemistry so you don’t have to”.

The website said it used an algorithm based on scientific theories on “assortative mating” that required users to complete questionnaires to determine personality traits, values, interests and other factors. Users were then matched to others whose responses complemented their own preferences.