Any person who, with intent to sell or in any way dispose of merchandise, securities, service, or anything offered by such person, directly or indirectly, to the public for sale or distribution, or who, with intent to increase the consumption of or demand for such merchandise, securities, service or other thing, or to induce the public in any manner to enter into any obligation relating thereto, or to acquire title thereto, or an interest therein, makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates or places before the public, or causes, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public within the state, in a newspaper or other publication, or in the form of a book, notice, handbill, poster, bill, circular, pamphlet or letter, or by a label affixed to the merchandise or its container, or in any other way, an advertisement of any sort regarding merchandise, securities, service or anything so offered to the public, which advertisement contains any assertion, representation or statement of fact which is untrue, deceptive or misleading, including but not limited to representing himself as selling at wholesale unless he is actually selling at wholesale those items so represented, and which such person knew, or might on reasonable investigation have ascertained to be untrue, deceptive or misleading, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and the offending person, whether found guilty or not, may be held civilly responsible in tort for damages to persons or property proximately resulting from a violation of this section. This section shall not apply to any owner, publisher, printer, agent or employee of a newspaper or other publication, periodical or circular, or to any agent of the advertiser who in good faith and without knowledge of the falsity or deceptive character thereof publishes, causes to be published, or participates in the publication of such advertisement. Firms with the word "wholesale" in their corporate title are not in violation of this section so long as they identify the sales as being made by their retail division.
Structure Mississippi Code
Chapter 23 - Offenses Affecting Trade, Business and Professions
§ 97-23-1. False advertising and misrepresentation of nature of business
§ 97-23-3. Advertising; untrue, deceptive, or misleading
§ 97-23-5. Advertising; pulling down advertisements
§ 97-23-7. Cotton; fraudulent packing
§ 97-23-9. Cotton; seed-cotton not sold at night
§ 97-23-11. Cotton; scalage; deductions from true weight of bale prohibited
§ 97-23-13. Cotton; scalage; purchasers of cotton to account for actual weight
§ 97-23-15. Cottonseed meal; adulterated meal to be branded
§ 97-23-19. Embezzlement; by agents, bailees, trustees, servants and persons generally
§ 97-23-21. Embezzlement; evidence of debt negotiable by delivery but not delivered
§ 97-23-23. Embezzlement; buying or receiving embezzled goods
§ 97-23-25. Embezzlement; property held in trust or received on contract
§ 97-23-27. Embezzlement; property borrowed or hired
§ 97-23-29. Enticing away servant or lessee without written consent; provisions applicable to minors
§ 97-23-31. Insurance; acting as agent for company not complying with law
§ 97-23-35. Newspapers and periodicals to print names of their editors
§ 97-23-37. Oleomargarine and other imitation food to be branded
§ 97-23-39. Preventing employment by force or violence; penalty
§ 97-23-41. Preventing employment by force or violence; conspiracy
§ 97-23-43. Profession; practicing without license
§ 97-23-55. Storage battery; unlawful to deface rental battery
§ 97-23-57. Storage battery; unlawful to sell or give away rental battery
§ 97-23-59. Storage battery; unlawful to retain or recharge rental battery
§ 97-23-61. Storage battery; penalty
§ 97-23-83. Threats or coercion to prevent lawful conduct of business
§ 97-23-85. Unlawful restraint of trade; boycott; civil liability
§ 97-23-87. Unauthorized copying or sale of recordings
§ 97-23-94.1. Punishment for violation of Section 97-23-94
§ 97-23-95. Shoplifting; detention of suspect for questioning without incurring civil liability
§ 97-23-97. Scalping of admission tickets at college events held on state property
§ 97-23-99. Giving away of merchandise by employee without authorization of merchant
§ 97-23-101. Laundering of monetary instruments; offense; penalties; effect of federal conviction