BBC's Panorama will tonight (11 February) focus on the dark side of social media influencers. It is unlikely to make happy viewing.
There can be little doubt that the stars of Youtube, Instagram etc. carry great weight and, well, influence. And with that responsibility.
But where does that responsibility rest?
Of course, individual Youtubers wishing to protect revenue streams will want to be careful about the brands they associate with. But can they be trusted to do and say the right thing? Experience suggests not.
The social media channels? Well, they don't seem to care.
Ultimately, responsibility must rest with the brands themselves.
And therein lies the rub. In the Wild West rush to bag an influencer, are brands leaving themselves exposed to a PR nightmare? Panorama thinks so.
We’ve all become more and more used to having advertising fed to us via social media, as our favourite Instagram and YouTube stars promote everything from their latest books to diet tea. But now the Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, has said social media companies who don’t start tackling irresponsible advertising by influencers should be fined or shut down. A BBC Panorama investigation has found that a teenager lost money on a gambling-type game promoted by a YouTuber, and another who had suffered from an eating disorder was approached to promote a ‘weight-loss’ drink. In the film, Ms Longfield says that "very little concrete action" has been taken by social media platforms to tackle the problems related to influencer selling.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/c8b3c39d-84df-4424-b42f-c04f26c8560f
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