Influencers in crisis: credibility, profit and controversies – 01/18/2024 – Education

The end of 2023 was tumultuous for several digital influencers. Italian Chiara Ferragni, who has almost 30 million followers on Instagram alone and, until then, was one of the most recognized figures in the international influence market, was fined more than 1 million euros (around R$5.5 million ). The reason: commercial misconduct in a campaign selling pandoro, a type of fruitless panettone common in Italy, the proceeds of which would go to a children’s hospital.

However, it was revealed that the candy manufacturer had already made a donation of 50 thousand euros to the institution before the product even went on sale. With the action, Ferragni won the same amount that authorities are now asking her to pay. The case was nicknamed “pandoro gate”, was even commented on by the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and culminated in the approval of rules for the influence market, created by the Italian Competition and Market Guarantee Authority (Agcom).

Here, influencers were involved in a scandal for promoting Blaze, a digital gambling platform, denounced for promoting services considered illegal in Brazil. Furthermore, the company is being investigated for not paying users when they earn large sums of money on the app. The Fantástico report that highlighted the case forced influencers to speak out and break contracts. One of them even stated that he never used the platform and questioned his followers: “If I say ‘jump off the cliff’, will you jump?”

Such a question may seem absurd, but it helps us think about how far the responsibility of content creators goes in a digitalized world, in which they have become a reference for information, customs, values ​​and lifestyle for millions of children, teenagers and adults.

The so-called “creator economy” is a business that generates a lot, a lot of money. Data from the Influencity platform revealed that, in Latin America alone, digital advertising grew from US$7.92 billion to US$34.7 billion between 2020 and 2022. According to the company, Brazil alone is responsible for 34% of this investment .

On the one hand, choosing to link a brand to a content creator may seem like a sure way to boost sales of a product, as potential consumers are segmented among the digital influencer’s audience. In other words, it is a strategic decision and much less expensive than advertising in traditional press vehicles. However, if the chosen one ends up getting involved in some controversy, the damage could be great, also damaging the company’s reputation.

But this equation has another element beyond content creators and companies — the public. Followers whose likes, comments and shares are “sold” by these influencers when it comes to getting a good contract, showing that the engagement of their fan community is high and, therefore, profitable. Followers who follow the lives of these figures in real time and who trust everything they are told and shown. And it is precisely in this false relationship of trust that the risks lie.

In Brazil, the National Advertising Self-Regulation Council (Conar) created the Advertising Guide for Digital Influencers in 2020, a type of advertising code of ethics to guide the online work of these virtual celebrities. Even so, the audience needs to pay attention, as not all undue advertising or even scams are easy to notice. Until a complaint is taken to the responsible authorities and the case gains proportions, many people can be deceived.

It is necessary to be wary of fancy products, miraculous cures for illnesses and quick ways to get rich: research, look for more information about the goods and who is behind them, even if those who are advertising them are personalities that you think you know well.

Furthermore, it is worth remembering that influencers can also “sell” good and bad ideas. And by bad, we mean misinformation, conspiracy theories, denialism and even hate speech disguised as freedom of expression. Of course, there are responsible and extremely ethical digital influencers producing high-quality content. But just because you seemingly follow a person’s every move online doesn’t mean you really know them. If even our most beloved relatives send us “fake news” and dubious chain letters via WhatsApp, often without checking, why wouldn’t this happen, intentionally or not, to those who make money from it?