Editing Appeal to fear (section)

==Fear, uncertainty and doubt==
[[Fear, uncertainty and doubt]] (FUD) is the appeal to fear in [[sales]] or [[marketing]]; in which a company disseminates negative (and vague) information on a competitor's product. The term originated to describe misinformation tactics in the [[computer hardware]] industry and has since been used more broadly. FUD is "implicit coercion" by "any kind of [[disinformation]] used as a competitive weapon."<ref>{{cite web |author=Raymond, Eric S |author-link=Eric S. Raymond |url=http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/F/FUD.html |work=The Jargon File |title=FUD}}</ref>{{Unreliable source|date=February 2016}} FUD creates a situation in which buyers are encouraged to purchase by [[brand recognition|brand]], regardless of the relative technical merits. Opponents of certain large computer corporations{{who|date=November 2011}} state that the spreading of fear, uncertainty, and doubt is an [[unethical]] marketing technique that these corporations consciously employ.