An Instagram influencer, Sophie Hinchliffe, popularly known as Mrs Hinch, is presently under investigation. The United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) alleges that she failed to disclose sponsored contents.
Hinchliffe has gained over 2.5 million followers from sharing cleaning tips on Instagram. She, however, said that she is overly cautious with guidelines, and she follows the advertising guidelines.
The British Instagram influencer, who is 29, offers home improvements tips that include sponsored contents that advertise major brands.
ASA said it had received three complains regarding Hinchliffe’s posts since April 2019. The British agency said they are currently investigating these reports and will publish decisions soon.
She allegedly posted ads about products like air fresheners and home cleaners. She was also said to not be labelling these ads adequately.
There were also reports that suggested that Hinchliffe had received some sort of warning from ASA before now. On two occasions they had sent advice about properly following the policies.
ASA and Competition Markets Authority have established policies. One of them states that all social media advertisements should be clearly stated as such.
This also includes posts by everyone called an Instagram influencer.
This would mean that the viewers should be able to tell immediately that a post is an ad even before they interact with it. The guideline states that the influencer is liable to clearly use the words ad, advert or advertising instead of in association with or sponsorship.
Instagram influencer Hinchliffe, in response during an interview with The Guardian, said,
“I continue to learn a lot, but feel my community are clear about any content that is part of a commercial partnership, and that which isn’t. In fact, I’m overly cautious when it comes to these guidelines and will continue to be.”