Context
The ASA and CAP have published research showing that many people find it difficult to tell when influencer content is advertising. Influencer ads are often confused with ordinary posts and are harder to recognise than people expect.
Key points to note and next actions
Unlike traditional media, social media has no clear ad breaks. To understand how people recognise influencer advertising, ASA and CAP commissioned research testing real content on TikTok and Instagram. Algorithms regularly surface posts from unfamiliar creators on these platforms, making it harder to spot whether a post is an advert. The research shows:
- Strong public support for transparency and the desire for influencers to be clear. Around eight in ten say they want influencers to clearly label paid content upfront
- Confidence does not always match reality. Brand adverts on social media were the clearest, with around three-quarters of people able to identify them correctly. Influencer ads were harder to spot, around half of people confidently saying an influencer post was an advert, and more than a quarter did not recognise them at all. Confusion worked both ways. Some genuine reviews were mistaken for ads, and some paid influencer posts were seen as ordinary, unpaid content.
- Clear labelling makes a difference as it gives people certainty and helps them recognise ads quickly and confidently.