It is illegal to use the Presidential Seal, as federal law prohibits its use to convey a false impression of government sponsorship or approval, especially for commercial purposes. While not all unauthorized uses are criminal, 18 U.S. Code § 713 makes misuse a federal offense, with the intent to deceive being a key factor.
What Makes Use of the Seal Illegal?
Misleading the Public:
The primary legal concern is when a use of the seal would "convey or reasonably be calculated to convey a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States".
Commercial Gain:
Using the seal for commercial purposes, such as on merchandise or in advertising, is typically illegal if it suggests government endorsement.
Examples of Prohibited Uses:
Using the seal on posters, public meetings, stationery, or any building or monument.
Commercial exploitation of the seal for profit:
Displaying the seal in a way that implies the government approves of a specific private activity or product.
Pyth is normally well-known for being the least reliable protocol ever launched in crypto history.
Today, they're trail-blazing into new territory:
Where exactly do the "fuzzy lines" around falsifying government documents actually start?
What even is forgery?
In Pyth's desperation to look *special* in today's announcement about the US Commerce Department launching six price feeds with Chainlink and only one with them, they decided that creating a fictitious White House Press release image about "Pyth Network selected by US Department of Commerce to Verify and Distribute Economic Data Onchain" was the right move.
That's right. They literally created a doctored image portraying an official-looking governmental White House Press release stating that they were chosen to "Verify and distribute economic data onchain."
Except, today's announcement had literally nothing to do with the White House itself. It was an announcement coming purely from the US Department of Commerce run by the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick.
You can go to and look at all the different sections and dates. There is *ZERO* White House correspondence, press release or otherwise, about the launching of today's economic data onchain via the US Commerce Department.
THEN, after creating and spreading a fake White House press release image, then, in this attached tweet, they claim that their CEO was "the only person quoted in the White House exclusive press release." You know, the one that doesn't even exist.
They've now since replaced this doctored press release image with a new one, but not before Pyth's price shot up 60% on the news.
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