Anger as Love Island stars paid ‘£10,000’ for plugging test and trace on Instagram
STARS of TV hit Love Island were paid thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to plug the Government’s test and trace message, it has emerged.
Chris Hughes, Shaughna Phillips and Josh Denzel posted on Instagram, telling millions of fans testing was ‘free, quick and vital to stop the spread’.
Experts estimate the stars could claim between £5,000 to £10,000 to post such an advert. The campaign, which was signed off by the Cabinet Office, saw dozens of smaller social media ‘influencers’ receive £150 to £200, said the Sunday Mirror.
They were reportedly told to praise the NHS but not to ‘criticise the Government or its guidance’. Hughes, 27, posted a message to his 2.1million followers which said: ‘Getting tested for coronavirus is the best way for us all to get back to doing the things we love.’
Miss Phillips, 26, uploaded a similar advert while Denzel, 2 , also told social media followers to get tested to ‘get back to the good times’ and claimed to be ‘staying at home’.
John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Z-list celebrities should not be paid to push messages which plenty of people have been doing free of charge. If these influencers want to help with the Covid campaign, they should promote the message for free.’
The Advertising Standards Authority has launched an investigation. Paid-for social media ads are required to be marked #ad or #spon. None of the posts were disclosed as ads until the issue was raised by a newspaper.
A Government spokesman defended the posts, saying: ‘Our use of social media influencers has meant over seven million people have been reached.’ The Love Island stars were unavailable for comment.