We uncovered the skinny on teas and now it seems like the Kardashian klan have landed themselves in some major hot water!
Nonprofit consumer group Truth in Advertising has shed a light on the family continuously sharing Instagram photos without labeling them as sponsored posts.
“We found that members of the Kardashian/Jenner family are engaged in deceptive marketing campaigns for various companies by routinely creating and publishing sponsored social media posts for such companies without clearly and conspicuously disclosing that they are paid representatives or that the posts are advertisements,” Truth in Advertising wrote in a letter addressed to Kris Jenner and lawyer Michael Kump on August 17.
Check out more on their legal drama in the video player… Article continues below!
Reviewing Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kendall and Kylie’s Instagram accounts, the organisation claim that all the ladies have violated “federal law” for not making clear that certain posts were advertisements.
Together, the KUWTK starlets boast an impressive 316 million followers.
The issue is many of their share snaps aren’t very clear. While Kylie, Kourtney and Khloe all posing with their FitTea may look like an ad, Kendall sharing her favourite Calvin Kleins or Estee Lauder products, makes things murky, considering the 21-year-old is a paid spokesperson for the brands.
The posts in question…
Unlike her sisters, Kourt clearly labels her posts.
The nonprofit group have provided detailed guidelines for the gang, advising the best way to alert their fans if they’ve been paid for a post and recommending the use of hashtags like #ad or #sponsored.
Back in May, Kourtney’s baby daddy Scott Disick had a major Instagram fail after posting the instructions from an advertiser straight into the caption for a sponsored post.
While he tried to salvage the upload by editing the caption, of course the internet immortalised the slip-up by taking a screenshot of the original post.
Something went awry!
The girls need to change their ways!
Richard Cleland from the Federal Trade Commission admits he hopes the letter to the reality stars helps educate other celebs, bloggers and Instagram celebrities.
“Our approach is going to be educational, particularly with bloggers. We’re focusing on the advertisers: What kind of education are you providing them, are you monitoring the bloggers and whether what they’re saying is true?,” he told Fast Company.
It seems like the letter has done its job.
On Monday, Kim shared a video of herself chomping down on a SugarBearHair gummy.
Clearly marking it as a paid post, she captioned the clip, “#ad Excited to be partnering with @sugarbearhair to share their amazing hair vitamins with you! These chewable gummy vitamins are delicious and a favorite part of my hair care routine #sugarbearhair.”
Check it out in the player below!
