Instagram to Make It Clearer When Influencer Posts Are Paid Ads
- Internet celebrities can tag brands to mark sponsored photos
- Test of new system follows FTC criticism on disclosures
This article is for subscribers only.
Instagram has helped nourish a crop of internet celebrities popular for their lifestyle photographs -- and rich thanks to their sponsors. Now the mobile app is giving them a better way to disclose when they’re being paid, aiming to increase transparency.
The company will let users who work with sponsors decide to tag a brand within their posts. If the brand confirms the relationship, the post will be marked as an ad with a "paid partnership" tag at the top. The product is being tested now with a handful of businesses and celebrities, and will be rolled out more widely if successful, the company said. Facebook Inc., which owns Instagram, uses a similar disclosure system on its main social network.