149 Torah Book & Portion, Book of Leviticus, Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1–20:27), Source Book Keys, MEIR LEVITICUS | 19:14 stumbling — LEV403 Q: My publication has a major advertiser w... LEV403 Q: My publication has a major advertiser who buy space every week. For the coming week, he provided copy that reads like an objective public interest article and asked me to type-set like a regular article. Is this ethical? A: The intense competition in the communications media is leading to the creation of innovative new media categories like infotainment and edutainment. One of the most popular categories, and also one of the most ethically problematic, is the so-called advertorial. An advertorial is an advertisement carefully written and type-set to have the look and feel of news or of an editorial opinion piece. The ethical problem here is that the reader believes he is getting information or advice which is unbiased, while the true motive for presenting the content he sees is commercial. According to Jewish law, this practice runs afoul of the strict prohibition against concealing a conflict of interest when giving advice. The Torah tells us [this verse]. According to Jewish tradition, this refers to anything that would incline a person to blindly act against his or her own best interest. Share Print Source KeyMEIRVerse19:14Keyword(s)stumblingSource Page(s)251 Switch article LEVITICUS | 19:14 stumbling — LEV401 A salesperson is not expected to be object... Previous Article LEVITICUS | 19:14 stumbling — LEV404 Q: Some businesses in my area are run on a... Next Article