The Guardian‎: Pro-fracking newspaper ad banned by Advertising Standards Authority

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that a US energy company misled the public when it made unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of fracking and claimed a gas shortage put the UK close to catastrophe.

Breitling Energy's advertisement in the Telegraph began: "Dear Citizens of the United Kingdom, do you know that your country is blessed with an incredible gift?" It said higher shale gas estimates in the British Geographical Survey were "fantastic news for the UK".

The ad, published in February, said Britain suffered a "near-catastrophic gas shortage" in early 2013 and claimed that extracting natural gas from shale rock would mean: "decades worth of natural gas", "millions of pounds in tax revenues", "freedom from interruptions and stoppages as a result of Russia's political games with your gas supply", "lowering energy prices for millions" and "reducing greenhouse emissions by replacing coal with natural gas for energy".
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