Code of Ethics: Misleading Images in Advertising

Code of Ethics: Misleading Images in Advertising

Published by: Illinois REALTORS®, April 16, 2018

At their November 2017 meeting, the Board of Directors of the National Association of REALTORS® approved the following change to Article 12, Standard of Practice 12-10 of the Code of Ethics.

REALTORS®’ obligation to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public includes Internet content posted, images, and the URLs and domain names they use, and prohibits REALTORS® from:

  1. engaging in deceptive or unauthorized framing of real estate brokerage websites;
  2. manipulating (e.g., presenting content developed by others) listing and other content in any way that produces a deceptive or misleading result;
  3. deceptively using metatags, keywords or other devices/methods to direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic; or
  4. presenting content developed by others without either attribution or without permission, or
  5. otherwise misleading consumers, including use of misleading images.

As consumers increasingly rely on images of listed property in tailoring their home search, excessive use of photo altering techniques or extreme distortion of a space’s size in a photograph may not only mislead consumers, but damage the credibility of REALTORS® and the industry that relies on photographs in the MLS or on websites to accurately represent listed property.

When posting photos, please be careful not to alter the photo, such as removing parts of the landscape, a building or other structures and ensure that your photos are an actual representation of the property.

For the full article, visit the Illinois REALTORS® at: https://www.illinoisrealtors.org/blog/code-ethics-misleading-images-advertising/

Code of Ethics: Misleading Images in Advertising

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