DJ Khaled’s Snapchat account has quickly risen in profile over the past year, with his continuous snaps about meals, music, and the keys to success. But the tone of many celebrity social media posts, including Snapchat, may soon need to change. In recent days, the FTC has made clear that it will begin to more vigorously enforce celebrity endorsements where there was insufficient disclosure that the influencer was paid to post.
But, given the prevalence of these influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers, aren’t consumers starting to realize that they are being subjected to ads? Not according to the FTC. Unlike traditional media such as television, where the audience is likely to understand that the content is an advertisement, celebrities’ and influencers’ persistent tweets and snapchats may not be understood by consumers to be marketing content that the author was paid to post. In the case of many celebrities the line between personal and professional is not always so clear. For example, DJ Khaled often snaps his healthy meals and shoe collection, thus blurring the line between those products he was paid to endorse versus those that he simply wants to share with his audience, no strings tied.Continue Reading FTC Looks to Influence Disclosures