Everyone tells a lie now & again and big company executives are no exception. But the difference is that their lies are usually a lot bigger—and so are the consequences. This includes banks creating fake accounts as well as some lying about sandwich sizes. Here are eleven times when companies broke our trust in the most spectacular ways.
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Wells Fargo’s Phantom Accounts
From 2011 to 2016, Wells Fargo employees made millions of fake accounts because they were under heavy sales pressure & desperate to appear successful. When investigations revealed what was really going on, the scam came crashing down. The lies cost the bank more than just money—it caused serious damage to its reputation.
Samsung’s Exploding Phones
The Galaxy Note 7 was supposed to be the next big thing. Yet its battery issues turned it into more of a bombshell and we mean that literally—the phones started exploding. At first, Samsung claimed these were isolated cases but as more phones started catching fire, they had to admit the truth that the problem was far bigger. It led to a global recall—and a lot of red faces at Samsung HQ.
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Theranos’ Blood Test Fairy Tales
Elizabeth Holmes promised she would completely change blood testing with her company, Theranos, claiming she’d need just a few drops to run hundreds of tests. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. The tech didn’t work as promised and the company misled both investors & patients. The Wall Street Journal’s digging in 2015 exposed the truth and then Holmes was imprisoned.
The European Horse Meat Hullabaloo
In 2013, food companies across Europe (including IKEA) were caught selling beef products that were secretly horse meat. While the meat itself was harmless, it was a serious breach of trust & transparency in the food supply chain. There were several recalls and public outrage towards IKEA.
Olympus’ Financial Fiasco
In 2011, it was revealed that Olympus had been hiding losses through some financial sleight of hand. The truth came out thanks to CEO Michael Christopher Woodford who didn’t like what he saw & decided to reveal the truth. The scandal was a major blow to the company’s image. In fact, it stands as one of the biggest financial scandals in Japanese history.
BP’s Oil Spill Understatements
After the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, BP downplayed the disaster by offering lowball estimates of the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Independent scientists had to step in to show the real magnitude of the spill. This led to a massive cleanup effort and major legal consequences for BP, mostly for their lies.
Apple’s Battery Slowdown
Several years ago, iPhone users began noticing their phones were getting slower with each update and Apple initially claimed this was because of other issues. For example, they blamed outdated software. However, it eventually came out that Apple was intentionally slowing down older phones and tech giant was forced to give discounted battery replacements.
Lumber Liquidators Flooring Fiasco
In 2018, rumors came out that Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring contained levels of formaldehyde beyond safety standards. While the company assured customers of their product’s safety & quality, investigations showed a different story. Eventually, its stock prices fell massively and the company had to pay a fine of approximately $33 million.
Kellogg’s Cereal Claims
Kellogg’s is probably the largest name in breakfast foods, However, it previously made false health claims about some of its cereals by advertising that Frosted Mini-Wheats could improve children’s attentiveness & other cereals could boost immunity. But there was no scientific proof of this! Kellogg had to retract the statements and settle a lawsuit.
Subway’s “Footlong” Sandwich Saga
Who knew a sandwich could cause such a stir? Subway faced customer backlash after it came out that their “footlong” sandwiches were sometimes shorter than 12 inches. Customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the company but this was eventually thrown out. Still, the case made headlines and proved that, for fast food, size does matter!
SeaWorld’s Orca Controversy
After the documentary “Blackfish” came out, there was public outcry over how SeaWorld treated its orcas. SeaWorld tried to dismiss the film’s claims but eventually had to change their tune. They ended their orca breeding program and live performances with the animals. Clearly, the mounting public pressure was too much for them to handle.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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