'Cool in 90 seconds' - the fake portable air conditioners sweeping the internet

As parts of the UK brace for another hot weekend, online adverts for portable air conditioners claiming to be "designed by former Nasa engineers" and able to "cool a room in 90 seconds" have been appearing on platforms including Facebook and YouTube. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has warned the products are often "too good to be true." YouTuber Stuart Matthews, who bought several devices to test, told the BBC that despite paying £70 for one machine, it turned out to be "a small, simple fan worth only a few pounds." The ASA told the BBC that some adverts made exaggerated claims, including that a small device could cool an entire home within minutes or used very little electricity, and frequently featured fake customer reviews. Many of the adverts appeared to be AI-generated, using visuals such as copper coils and metallic boxes to make the products seem more sophisticated. The ASA advised consumers to be sceptical of promises which sound too good to be true, dramatic backstories about "secret inventions," poor grammar, and customer reviews describing dramatic results. Matthews said the devices he bought contained "cheap components" made using "flawed science," with one actually containing "a load of cardboard fins that get wet as the water blows past them," functioning as a so-called "swamp cooler" which is much less effective in humid climates like much of the UK.