For Noem, a strange video promoting her new smile comes with a legal headache
When South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem showed off her new teeth in a slickly produced video posted to social media Tuesday, it seemed like a stunning move: advertising that she, the head of one state, had flown to another for a cosmetic intervention that was documented in detail for her followers.
Now Ms. Noem has even more to chew on.
A nonpartisan consumer group filed a lawsuit against Ms. Noem on Wednesday in Superior Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that the social media post was an undisclosed advertisement for the Houston cosmetic dentistry practice, which is prominently featured in the nearly five-minute post — a violation of the District’s consumer protection law, which prohibits deceptive business practices.
Ms. Noem — a Republican who is reportedly on former President Donald J. Trump’s shortlist to become his running mate — is also under scrutiny in her home state over the dental procedure. On Wednesday, a state senator in South Dakota called on the state Legislature’s operations and audit committee to investigate her trip to Texas, specifically whether she used public funds or a state plane.
A representative for Ms. Noem did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smile Texas, the practice that Ms. Noem mentions extensively in the video, advertises itself as a destination for cosmetic procedures and offers travel and financing advice on its website. A representative who arrived on the company’s main line on Thursday said: “I ran to the phone and I’m not going to talk to you. That’s HIPAA policy. You’re smart enough to know that.”
(HIPAA – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act – governs the use and disclosure of certain sensitive health information. It is often used – sometimes incorrectly – as shorthand for “medical privacy.”)
In Tuesday’s video, Ms. Noem, 52, describes how she flew to Houston so “the Smile Texas team” could fix her teeth, which she said were knocked out in a bicycle accident years ago. Her testimony is interspersed with images of a dentist in practice and tight shots of her mouth, and ends with the Smile Texas logo. Ms. Noem has not added a “sponsored” tag or otherwise labeled the content.
Smile Texas posted the video along with her Instagram account other images from Mrs. Noem.
In the video, Ms. Noem — who has risen to prominence in the Republican Party — says she was motivated by wanting to feel confident, and that her smile should not be a distraction. “When people look at me, I want to hear the words I say and not be distracted by anything I’m wearing, what I look like or even by my appearance,” she said.
Travelers United, a nonprofit that focuses on travel, took issue with the ad, calling it an example of an influencer promoting medical tourism — traveling to another state to undergo a procedure — without disclosing that it is a advertisement was.
Ms. Noem, the indictment says, “advertised a product or service without disclosing that she has a financial relationship with that company.” The lawsuit seeks to force her to issue “corrective notices” about the social media posts.
When social media influencers collaborate with brands or companies in posts, they are typically legally required to make that relationship explicit, such as by explaining the relationship or writing “advertisement” in the caption. The Federal Trade Commission in 2019 guidance released at practice.