Razer’s recent Zephyr filter mask has been all the rage the past couple of months, with many outlets and influencers brandishing it loud and proud while singing its praises. And there’s a new Razer Zephyr Pro coming out soon that amplifies your voice from behind the mask.

That goodwill and progressive thinking may all be for naught if this piece of news is true. It turns out that the Razer Zephyr’s N95 Grade filters for its air purifier apparatus do not make it an N95 mask. According to renowned China-based tech and DIY YouTuber Naomi Wu (via PC Mag) most people will see the “N95 Grade filters with two-way protection” phrase to assume that the Razer Zephyr mask is an N95 mask.

Please RT folks?? @Razer is aggressively pushing this dangerous product as a viable mask for COVID mitigation. Countless news outlets have been promoting it without fact-checking and it's an uphill battle.

Thanks to @PCMag for the update:https://t.co/wOHCZZ1uqn

— Naomi Wu ???? (@RealSexyCyborg) January 8, 2022

To be fair, Razer’s fine print regarding the Zephyr masks state that both the standard and Pro versions are “not medical devices, respirators, surgical masks, or personal protective equipment (PPE) and are not meant to be used in medical or clinical settings”. Despite adopting standards set forth by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the mask has not been certified by the agency.

And then there are these additions in 2022 on the Razer Zephyr site:

Regardless of how you see it, that didn’t stop Razer from using the N95 Grade filters to market its mask as a “be all, end all” device that’s cool with gamers and supposedly compliant with medical standards. Despite not being personal protective equipment and not being officially certified as stated above, the top of the product page states that Zephyr uses “replaceable N95 Grade filters for daily protection”. That seems a bit contradictory in our books.

Then again, that’s how Razer has always positioned itself since the company’s inception: being the omega line of gaming peripherals that get away with charging people a lot for top-of-the-line gaming and gamer-like products. When it comes to masks that can help with the COVID-19 situation even for a tad bit, it’s still considered misleading marketing no matter how you frame it and how many disclaimers you have.