A public awareness campaign aimed at teaching teenagers about the dangers of buying knockoff items online pivoted from its original intent to blitz the airwaves about the dangers of counterfeit fentanyl, now the top killer of young adults in the country.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office and the nongovernmental organization the National Crime Prevention Council launched the “Go For Real” campaign in 2019 to inform children and teenagers to look out for and avoid fake versions of designer handbags, professional sports gear, and the like.
But several years into that campaign, the government and nonprofit officials running the effort have chosen to shift messaging to focus increasingly on pills that can kill, including fentanyl.
NCPC Executive Director Paul DelPonte said he began hearing from parents three years ago about deaths of children to
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