Being an influencer is considered a dream job for many individuals. Most people focus on the immense amount of money and fame that the most famous influencers achieve, but they are misled if they think it will be easy to reach that level. All influencers have started from scratch, and their growth has been gradual, in some cases taking many years to reach a point where it is profitable to continue in the profession. The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption, and Agenda 2030 has revealed high figures of unfair advertising practices carried out by Spanish influencers since reaching fame is not easy, and making a living is necessary.
Among young people and those who were born in the internet era, professions related to social media and gaming are the most attractive. Being a YouTuber or influencer is the dream of many youths and teenagers, who still have their whole lives ahead of them and are fans of this type of content creator. Life from the outside may seem too good to be true, as for many, these creators just upload some pictures or videos and suddenly gain thousands of likes and millions of views.
The majority of Spanish influencers engage in illicit practices in advertising
The reality is that, apart from a few exceptions where people have become famous almost instantly, most influencers have had a long and bumpy road. Many, especially among YouTubers, have a journey spanning over a decade, as they started gaining popularity when the platform was not as competitive as it is now. The situation on Instagram and TikTok is similar, where it is increasingly difficult to grow.
Adding to this is the growing presence of AI-created influencers, making it extremely challenging to stand out. In this increasingly competitive sector, Spanish content creators and influencers frequently resort to unfair and illicit advertising practices, which, of course, violates European laws.
The Spanish government is not seeking to fine influencers
The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption, and Agenda 2030 has published a report stating that 7 out of 10 Spanish influencers have engaged in unfair advertising practices. Although specific activities have not been mentioned, it has been warned that these are illegal in European territory. To reach these conclusions, the publications of a total of 576 travel and fashion-focused influencers were analyzed.
Pablo Bustinduy, together with consumer authorities from the Balearic Islands, Madrid, and Catalonia, managed to examine the content of around 40 popular Spanish content creators on social networks. Using this as a reference, 3 out of 4 of those analyzed violated one or more European advertising regulations. Instead of fining them, the Spanish government wants to create a guide of good practices targeted at influencers. They believe that the majority of these violations are due to a lack of knowledge.
The news that 7 out of 10 Spanish influencers engage in unfair advertising practices was first reported by El Chapuzas Informático.