Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism

Influencer boom draws scrutiny

6 December 2019
'JoanTwins' fashion bloggers Elena and Melina take pictures of each other as they visit the made-for-Instagram museum 'Cali Dreams' in Dusseldorf, Germany, Oct. 25, 2019. (EPA-EFE/Sascha Steinbach)

Social media influencers have enjoyed rapid growth in recent years. From an industry that was virtually non-existent a decade ago, companies are projected to pay individuals $10 billion globally in 2020 to laud their products in social media posts.

This booming industry has led to a number of different concerns for regulators and for advertisers. The added scrutiny led the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to issue new guidelines for influencers in November.

On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at the rise of the social media influencer industry and how it's changing advertising.

 

 

Joining the program:

 

Assistant producers: Kasey Baiter, Benjamin Brink Jr., Grace Huguelet

Supervising producers: Trevor Hook, Edom Kassaye

Visual editor: Kyle McCubbin

Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism.
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