The Kardashian
family is known for over-sharing, but a consumer watchdog group alleges that
Kim & Co. have crossed a line with some of their social media posts.
Truth
in Advertising sent a letter to the Kardashian-Jenner family last week, telling
them that they had found over 100 Instagram posts that were paid product
placements without being marked as advertising.
The
Kardashians now have a week to take those posts down, or Truth in Advertising
will notify the Federal Communications Commission, which in turn could open an
official investigation. The group found undisclosed product placement on the
Instagram accounts of five Kardashian siblings, which collectively advertised
more than two dozen companies without proper disclosures.
“Kylie had the
most problem posts. Kim took second,” it stated in a blog post Monday. “Puma,
with which Kylie has an endorsement deal, led all companies in TINA.org’s
sampling with 13 posts. Paid posts promoting Fit Tea appeared on Kylie, Khloe,
and Kourtney’s Instagram pages.”
FCC
regulations require journalists, celebrities and other media personalities to
disclose their relationship with companies if they are reimbursed for a review
or endorsement. These regulations were initially put in place to make sure TV
show hosts wouldn’t advertise products without proper disclosures on air, but
have since been adapted to the social media age.
The FCC even
advises users on its website on how to ad proper disclosures to tweets and
Instagram messages without adding long-winded legalese: “The words ‘Sponsored’
and ‘Promotion’ use only 9 characters. ‘Paid ad’ only uses 7 characters.”
This isn’t the
first time the Kardashians have gotten in trouble for not properly labeling ads
on Instagram. A year ago, Kim Kardashian posted a photo on Instagram that
endorsed medicine against morning sickness without a warning of possible side
effects. The FDA stepped in and forced her to take down the post.
Product
endorsements on Instagram have become a big business for celebrities, with some
estimating that celebrities like Kendall Jenner make up to $300,000 with a
single endorsement.
Source: Fox news
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