"touted" has a positive connotation to me, so it doesn't sound right to tout negative aspects of something. But the meaning seems clear.

> “touted” is definitely the wrong word here,

Uh, no. In Merriam Webster, that's meaning #2. Meaning #1 is

> to make much of : promote, talk up

> touted as the summer's blockbuster movie

> the college's much touted women's studies program

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tout

Realistically, that first definition is slightly ambiguous; it may or may not mean to imply that the talk is supposed to be promotional and not derisive in order for the definition to apply. I am guessing that they probably did mean to imply that connotation, though, based on other information on the page.

I'd argue, though, that the reality is that the word's meaning is in the process of shifting from being a synonym for "promote" to being a synonym for "make out to be"; that reflects much common usage, and dictionaries always lag behind a bit in cases like this. They have to - they're a descriptive artifact, not a prescriptive one.

Which is also positive in its tone. It’s the wrong word.

The sense here is

1 : to make much of : PROMOTE, TALK UP

as opposed to

2 : to solicit, peddle, or persuade importunately

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tout

Edit: uups! Didn't reload the page and see yesenadam's comment before posting. Sorry about that!

It was promoted as hard to learn? What. Neither definition fits.