The West needs an influencer crackdown
Ispeak from experience when I say the following: China is a very difficult place to live. If in doubt, just ask the country’s online influencers. Under an edict issued by the Chinese Communist Party, they must now have a qualification in order to discuss technical topics like law and medicine.
Although the CCP is a tyrannical regime responsible for unspeakable atrocities in Xinjiang and beyond, and although we in the West and particularly in the United States revere free speech rights, there’s actually something to admire in this particular move. Online influencers, though so often ignorant, their advice frequently dangerous, are intensely (for lack of a better word) influential. Their words and actions are mimicked by impressionable children.
Though the approach here would surely be different from China’s draconian one, it’s time to crack down on ignorant influencers.
On June 22, China’s State Administration of Radio and Television and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism notified influencers that only qualified individuals would now be allowed to offer legal, medical and/ or financial advice. Intuitively, this makes sense. You probably wouldn’t take investment advice from your cab driver, mailman or local police officer. Would you take nutritional advice from an airline employee or your hairdresser? Probably not. So why take it from an influencer with no life experience, someone who probably still lives at home with mom and dad? In the U.S., more than 30% of influencers are between the ages of 18 and 24.
Worldwide, from London to Lahore, the influencer market is growing. Of all the countries in the world, the U.S. has witnessed the most growth. In America, influencing is big business. On Instagram alone, there are at least 685,000 people offering advice, pushing some product or service.
On TikTok, now the most popular app in existence, there are at least 393,000 U.S.-based influencers — that’s more than the population of New Orleans. For every genuinely knowledgeable influencer, there are dozens of snake oil salesmen (and women). On platforms like Instagram and TikTok, influencers are often paid to promote supplements, snacks and drinks.
According to Nyasha Nyoni, a New Yorker who has researched the effects of influencers on young people, the vast majority of the products being promoted are extremely unhealthy. Nyoni is one of many now pushing for regulations to protect young users from harmful ads and bad advice.
One-third of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 24; 43% of TikTok users are in the 18-24 range. To the average teen, influencers seem relatable. Because of this, as Nyoni’s research demonstrates, users may be less critical of the products they promote and the advice they offer. Right now, influential individuals with millions of followers are busy promoting unhealthy foods and beverages, including “alternative sodas” that quite literally erode your teeth, as well as dangerous weight-loss products and science-free wellness remedies.
As the author Jesselyn Cook recently noted, influencers can also be found marketing cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to the masses. Cook discussed Floyd Mayweather, a retired boxer who recently started “touting an obscure NFT project on Twitter.”
She also discussed a man by the name of Tyler, who jumped at this particular “investment opportunity.” Tyler put together “about $12,000 with the help of his mother” and purchased Mayweather’s NFT (a digital token that ostensibly conveys ownership of a pixelated image). Soon after investing this small fortune, Mayweather’s project plummeted in value.
The decision to invest “financially crippled” Tyler, who believes Mayweather and his promotional team “took their payouts and moved on,” while the thousands of people who invested their savings “got robbed.”
Even Matt Damon, America’s sweetheart, is guilty of selling “rat poison” to the masses. In an ad promoting Bitcoin, which aired earlier this year, the actor stared into the camera and told viewers that “fortune favors the brave.” Since the advertisement aired, Bitcoin has lost more than 50% of its value. How do you like them apples?
The crypto winter is here. How much do any of these celebrities and influencers pumping NFTs, digital “currencies,” and dodgy diets really know? Very little, I argue. This is why regulation is needed.
Of course, one cannot prevent Damon from starring in a questionable advertisement, and “fortune favors the brave” does not qualify as advice.
My point here is a simple one, and it brings us back to the new rules recently introduced by the CCP. If someone is quite literally offering step-by-step advice, be it medical or financial, then they should be qualified to do so. If they do not possess the necessary qualifications, then, at the very least, they should disclose this before speaking. Paris Hilton may very well be “very, very excited” about Bitcoin, but she shouldn’t be delivering prescriptive investment advice.
While we await regulations that may never arrive, consumers should beware. There’s still a sucker born every minute. Try not to be one of those poor suckers.