Behind the #Ad: the ethics of influencer marketing and consumer trust
During your daily dose of social media scroll, you'll spot the tiny hashtag #ad or #sponsored tucked at the start of a caption or buried at the end of a post. What was once a space for authentic self-expression has become a modern marketplace, where opinions and advertisements often blur. Influencer marketing is now a billion-dollar industry. But as brands and creators' profit, can followers still trust what they see? When Authenticity Meets Advertising The appeal of influencers has always been authenticity. Unlike traditional ads, influencer marketing feels real , it's someone you admire sharing something they actually use. But when money enters the equation, that authenticity can get complicated. Many followers struggle to tell where genuine enthusiasm ends and paid promotion begins. Even with transparency rules requiring #ad disclosures, not every creator follows them consistently. Some try to hide sponsorships behind vague captions or subtle tagging. Therefore, the eth...