A website once producing fake Forbes magazine covers and publishing plagiarized original reporting by legitimate news outlets was shut down early Friday.
ForbesLasVegas.com is the third such “Forbes” website taken offline in as many months, following review and reporting by the Times.
“Forbes New York” and “Forbes England” were pulled offline in December, after the potentially trademark-infringing domain names they were hosted on were claimed by Forbes’ authorized site protection firm and security monitor.
“Forbes Las Vegas” was deemed “abusive,” the firm that took it offline early Friday morning said.
Forbes’ Chief Communications Officer confirmed earlier by email that “Forbes New York” specifically was not a valid part of the brand’s global network.
It bore certain similarities to the site taken offline Friday, such as the publication of high-praise articles and the production of “Forbes” magazine covers featuring influencers, entrepreneurs and others seemingly working to establish a name for themselves.
But Forbes has yet to comment on a claim forwarded to it in January of a PR Agency alleging that the sites in question had merely stopped paying a commission or licensing fee.
Despite no direct denial from Forbes on that lone public relations agency’s allegation—which stands to benefit from the websites’ perceived association with Forbes—all available data suggests the sites were never endorsed by or affiliated with Forbes:
- Domain registrations by private parties, rather than by Forbes’ authorized registrar.
- Terrible typographical errors and alteration of basic facts (names, ages) on magazine covers.
- Lack of transparency and methods of contact on the fake Forbes websites.
- Hyper-promotional tone of all covers and articles, every issue a “special.”
- Rapid scrubbing of sites and social media in response to questions concerning their legitimacy.
Fake Forbes Covers Featured Influencers and Entrepreneurs
We regret to inform many that they were not, as it turns out, “featured on Forbes.”
Magazine covers from “Forbes Las Vegas” were fake, fraudulent.
A probable violation of federal trademark law by their creator.
And a hot spot of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that some may not wish to get caught up in.
The Times invites those featured to forward the original email or DMs on which they first received their “Forbes” cover, to tips@surgicaltimes.com.
ForbesLasVegas.com
ForbesLasVegas.com was registered as a website in January 2023, by a private individual whose contact details were concealed—a common practice that protects a site owner’s privacy for a few bucks a month.
Like those before it that have since been taken offline and whose domains have been claimed by Forbes, “Forbes Las Vegas” used the look, likeness, and logos of Forbes Media, LLC.
Containing no means of contacting its owners or operators, ForbesLasVegas.com instead directed such inquiries, through links, back to Forbes.com, seemingly to provide a facade of credibility or legitimacy.
When the Times attempted to contact the owner/operators, it blocked the publication’s primary account on Instagram.
Until Friday morning, the website hosted nearly 350 articles—”written” at a rate of roughly nine per day—many but not all of them merely plagiarized re-publications of original reporting by The New York Times, CNBC, and others.
The site further established its early presence on social media—an Instagram account whose name had been changed four times—by reposting without attribution or “tagging” the original creators—news outlets including The New York Times, Business Insider, and USA Today.
The ease with which websites can be seeded makes it likely that “Forbes Las Vegas” won’t be the last to bear the billion-dollar-brand’s logo and likeness, without its authorization or knowledge.
While ForbesLasVegas.com did look quite like a Forbes website to brief passersby and prospects, another website, ForbesLosAngeles.com, looks utterly unlike an authentic Forbes website in almost every way.
Its homepage on Friday displayed only a message stating “There has been a critical error on this website.”
But behind that homepage, a wide world of similar articles and magazine covers are discoverable.
Like the Las Vegas site, ForbesLosAngeles.com and ForbesHollywood.com both list no means of contacting its owner/operators.
[Update 4/19: In early April 2024, ForbesLosAngeles.com was deemed fake/fraudulent and reclaimed by Forbes.]
As in Vegas, so in Hollywood.
Social media accounts for all three of the “Forbes” publications simultaneously either blocked the Times from viewing their content, or went “Private,” following our requests for comment on Wednesday evening.
Not entirely unexpected, as Las Vegas is merely the latest leg of a story that started in November.
In Hollywood and Los Angeles, we see similarities that appear to tie the network of sites together in some fashion, large or small, whether shared designers, copywriters, owners, or otherwise.
Surgical Times reached out to Forbes, “Forbes Las Vegas,” “Forbes Hollywood,” “Forbes Los Angeles,” and several individuals featured on this set of fake Forbes covers since Wednesday, but had yet to hear from them by noon Friday. Our reporting on suspected Forbes fakes began in late November 2023, since which time we’ve reached out by phone and email to more than 50 individuals.
As stated previously, Surgical Times is expressly not suggesting fault or wrongdoing on the part of the specific individuals featured in articles or on covers. They may have been presented a false picture regarding the websites, or been sold a lie unawares. Others have no idea they appear on these covers to begin with, their names and faces merely being used—much like the Forbes branding—to convey authenticity.