The Guinness Book of World Records was accused Thursday of “deceptive practices” after admitting that it has refused for the past two years to accept submissions from Israel in what may be a violation of U.S. consumer-protection laws.
The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law asked the Federal Trade Commission to take action against Guinness for billing itself as the “global authority on all things record-breaking” despite “secretly blocking” Israel and the Palestinian territories since November 2023.
“Guinness has a right to exclude Israeli records and publish anything they want, but they don’t have a right to deceive their readership and customer base by claiming that it is publishing ’world records,’” said Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth Marcus in a Thursday statement.
In his letter to the FTC, he urged the agency to “stop GWR’s deceptive business practice, prevent GWR from continuing to deceive American consumers, and require GWR to compensate consumers who were misled and defrauded by GWR’s deceptive practice.”
“We have seen again and again that Israelis are capable of besting the competition and achieving international success,” said Mr. Marcus. “Any so-called ’world record’ excluding such talented challengers must at a minimum carry an asterisk to disclose that it is not truly a record for the entire world. What’s worse, they hid their bigoted actions from consumers knowing it was unrepresentative of the titles they claimed.”
The London-based company, which has an office in New York City, confirmed earlier this month that it has not taken submissions from Israel and the Palestinian-ruled territories in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since shortly after war broke out over the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.
The admission came after Guinness rejected an inquiry from Matnat Chaim, an Israeli charity that encourages voluntary kidney donations, about its plan to bring together 2,000 donors for a photo in Jerusalem.
“We are aware of just how sensitive this is at the moment,” a Guinness spokesperson told the Times of Israel in a Dec. 3 article. “We truly do believe in record-breaking for everyone, everywhere, but unfortunately, in the current climate, we are not generally processing record applications from the Palestinian Territories or Israel, or where either is given as the attempt location, with the exception of those done in cooperation with a UN humanitarian aid relief agency.”
The Times of Israel said that its “request for clarification as to why a record broken in cooperation with a UN humanitarian aid relief agency would be acceptable was not answered.”
The spokesperson also said that the company reviews its policy on Israel every month, adding, “We hope to be in a position to receive new enquiries soon.”
Those condemning Guinness’s policy include Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who demanded that Guinness revoke its decision, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
“Did the people at Guinness World Record drink a full vat of the Guinness beer?” asked Mr. Huckabee in a Dec. 3 post on X. “How can people be so filled with hate & bigotry?”
Did the people at Guinness World Record drink a full vat of the Guinness beer? How can people be so filled with hate & bigotry? Glad @gidonsaar called out the outrageous insanity. https://t.co/7MWe8Ftl2B
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) December 3, 2025
In his letter, Mr. Marcus noted that Guinness has stiff-armed Israel despite acknowledging records in the past from rogue states like North Korea.
“GWR published the 2014 world record for longest talk show broadcast by a Damascus studio aligned with Bashar al-Assad,” the letter said. “That record came not long after the Syrian dictator’s sarin gas attack on the nearby Ghouta suburb of Damascus.”
The company announced an Iranian jump-rope record in February 2023 amid a crackdown on protests spurred by the arrest and subsequent death of a 22-year-old woman for wearing an “improper hijab.”
The letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador raised the possibility of Guinness providing refunds to consumers who have purchased its books or other products.
“We are hopeful that the FTC will hold GWR accountable and ensure accurate and inclusive records moving forward,” Mr. Marcus said. “To the extent that GWR has been deceptively selling mislabeled products to the public, it should provide their money back.”
The Washington Times has reached out to Guinness for comment.
