Artificial intelligence to monitor influencer posts that break advertising rules

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are to be used by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) to identify social media posts by influencers that break advertising rules.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are to be used by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) to identify social media posts by influencers that break advertising rules.

The tools will evaluate activity by social media influencers and assess if they are disclosing content correctly.

The move has been announced as new research shows that inauthenticity, photoshopping, too many paid ads, and misrepresenting real life are the most "annoying" influencer traits.

Trust

The study found that only one in 10 people have trust in what influencers post on their social media channels, while more than 62% believe that they post too much sponsored content.

The research also shows that 56% of Irish consumers trust brand advertisements more than social media posts by influencers.

Some 71% believe that when an influencer posts an ad, they are being paid by the brand to post positive content.

The research also sheds light on people’s understanding of the use of hashtags. 59% confirmed they did not recognise the term #sp and 54% revealed they didn't recognise the hashtag #iworkwith.

However, the most frequently recognised were #sponsored (61%), #ad (55%) and #paidpartnership (46%).

These results, alongside the recent Social Media Influencer Report released by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), reveal that there is a severe lack of trust between influencers and consumers.

That report found almost half of Irish influencer advertising content is not labelled as advertising "in any way".

Clarity and guidance

The ASAI said that the results indicate the need to provide additional guidance for both consumers and influencers, particularly around labelling.

The ASAI and the CCPC are now working together to ensure there is increased clarity in relation to responsibilities and requirements from influencers when advertising on social media.

ASAI Chief Executive Orla Twomey said: “As we can see from this research, over half of those surveyed remain bothered by both the lack of transparency in influencer marketing and not being able to distinguish content from advertising, which echoes similar results to the Social Media Influencer Report released by the CCPC last December. 

"To help with this we are planning to continue implementing the use of AI tools and working with the CCPC to develop further guidance.”

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission member Kevin O’Brien added: "Similar to our own research, published late last year, the ASAI’s research reinforces that platforms and brands must take greater responsibility for educating and informing their users and consumers, and must support influencers in clearly and consistently labelling paid content so that consumers are not misled."