Dark Patterns · principle
Disguised Advertisement
Playable Play this law (~3 min)or keep reading below ↓
Ads styled to be indistinguishable from content, navigation or search results, so clicks meant for the product go to the advertiser. Named in the CCPA (2023). Advertising is legitimate; DISGUISE is the pattern — the ad rents the user's trust in a format it didn't earn. The fix is almost embarrassingly simple: label it, visibly.
Where it comes from
Newspapers solved this a century ago: 'advertorials' were required to carry the word ADVERTISEMENT across the top after readers were repeatedly fooled by paid articles in editorial dress — US postal law mandated the marking as early as 1912. Every generation of media re-fights the same battle; the CCPA (2023) and the FTC's native-advertising guidance are the screen era's version of that stamped word.
Origin: The stamped word ADVERTISEMENT (US Newspaper Publicity Act, 1912)
In the wild
- Unlabelled paid search results
When the top three results are paid and look organic, the search box's neutrality is the thing being sold.
- Ads shaped like UI
Banner ads with fake 'next page' arrows convert misclicks into revenue — furniture that secretly belongs to someone else.
- The honest version
A bordered 'Ad' chip, 'paid partnership' tags, a host saying 'this segment is sponsored' — disclosure at the point of consumption.
Further reading
Don't just read it — feel it.
Play the 3-minute game and let your own reactions prove the law.
Play the lesson