In France, a new bill has just been passed by the French parliament waiting to be assented to into law by the French executives. The bill in its summary requires social media beauty/wellness products influencers to fully disclose the use of filters in their video or picture posts and also disclose to the public if the picture or video they posted was natural or edited or photoshopped while promoting a beauty product. They are as well legally expected to be honest about whether they have tested and used the product they are promoting or influencing as a social media public figure or influencer.
This law has taken this form of full disclosure outside the realm of morality to the jurisdiction of legality; now you as an influencer (when the bill is assented to) are legally bound to let your followers and the general public to know if the picture you posted is natural or edited or photoshopped, failure to do that you risk going to jail.
This bill also aimed at regulating the use of filters and photo-editing software by social media influencers and as well curtailing the lies, bluffs or wild claims by beauty promoters on social media who lie about products and deceive their gullible followers in order to promote or sell the product.
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A law like this is more important in the Nigerian social media space today because there is a whole new level of fraud and criminality going on in the Nigerian social media space in the guise of influencing. Product influencers who are mostly celebrities and popular figures in Nigeria always promote products which they do not use and have never used and tell lies about the efficacy of those products.
We have seen cases of teeth-whitening product influencers who were caught red-handed that they never used the teeth-whitening product they are influencing, rather they used filters and editing apps to whiten their teeth claiming that their teeth got Whitened due to the efficacy of the product. Acts like this have transcended the realm of morality, it should be criminalized. It is fraud to promote a product that you have never used or know if it’s efficient or even safe for consumers and you to lie about it and deceive your followers and those that take you by your words only for them to end up getting scammed and defrauded.
Body whitening creams and soaps, butt, breast and penis enlargement products and aphrodisiac (kayamata) influencers are all guilty as well of this fraud. It’s been found out that 99% of the influencers who influence body whitening creams and soaps only use filters to edit their pictures and videos so as to have clear and smooth skin in order to lie and claim that it is the efficacy of the products that are working miracles on their bodies.
All ye influencers who engage in acts like these, you are a thief and a fraudster and I’m sure that other countries especially Nigeria will learn one or two from the French parliament so as to pass a bill as well criminalizing acts of this nature.
The easiest way to sell fraud to Nigerians now is through social media influencers; crypto fraudsters and Ponzi schemes always explored this avenue so well to defraud huge sums off gullible Nigerians, this is because there are yet to be strict regulations or legislations on social media influencing and advertising, unlike the mainstream media where there are heavy regulations and plethora legislations on advertising.