BioPerformance

Article summary

BioPerformance is a multi-level marketing company that sells fuel additives, often in the form of "gas pills", which are claimed to increase fuel efficiency in automobiles. The company was founded in 2005 by Gus Romero. Research has concluded that the "gas pills" are not effective with regard to fuel efficiency. It has also been claimed that BioPerformance made other false claims, such as that its pills are non-toxic (they are made primarily of naphthalene, a toxic chemical also found in mothballs). The company was sued and temporarily shut down on May 17, 2006 by the Texas Attorney General for being an alleged pyramid scheme and also because of the company's alleged false advertising claims. It has been asserted by former BioPerformance representatives now speaking out against BioPerformance that the company appears to have taken early precautionary measures to avoid refunds on the gas pill. The company accepted money order payments or check payments through postal mail. Multilevel marketing companies selling faulty products have been known to not accept credit card payments due to charge backs from unsatisfied customers, which in turn create accrued charge back fees for the company. As of May 2007, the company still does not take credit cards and is still selling a naphthalene-based product.…

Key claims

1. date of foundation: 2005 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of foundation is "2005". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1340144026