Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham and Snooki among 100 celebrities and influencers warned against failing to disclose they're paid to plug products on social media

  • A hundred celebrities, sports stars and influencers received a warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission last month
  • They include Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum and Snooki
  • Beckham was in trouble for praising a skincare product by Dr Lancer on Instagram without revealing her ties to the marketer
  • Lopez also received a warning over her post against the backdrop of vodka bottles, with a caption that stated: 'Thanks again @vodkabeluga'
  • The FTC complained that a simple thanks would not alert most consumers that it was a paid for promotion
  • Snooki had posted a promotion for Flat Tummy Tea without revealing she was being paid
  • The FTC are not taking any action against the celebs aside from the letter reminding them of the rules

By Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:40 EDT, 7 May 2017 | Updated: 07:21 EDT, 8 May 2017

Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham and Snooki have all been warned about failing to disclose they are being paid to plug products on Instagram.

The stars are among a hundred celebrities, sports stars and influencers to receive the warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission last month. 

Beckham, who is married to international soccer star and model David Beckham, has 15.3million followers on Instagram and often uses it to post pictures of her fashion collections.

Jennifer Lopez and  Victoria Beckham have been warned about failing to disclose they are being paid to plug products on Instagram
Jennifer Lopez and  Victoria Beckham have been warned about failing to disclose they are being paid to plug products on Instagram

Jennifer Lopez (left in Manhattan on Saturday, left) and Victoria Beckham (in New York last September, right) have been warned about failing to disclose they are being paid to plug products on Instagram

Snooki, aka Nicole Polizzi, (pictured)  was also contacted over her promotion of Flat Tummy Tea

Snooki, aka Nicole Polizzi, (pictured)  was also contacted over her promotion of Flat Tummy Tea

But the post that landed her in trouble was about Lancer Contour Décolleté skincare cream, worth almost $100.

The mother-of-four has made multiple posts praising the product.

'My new must have @DrLancerrx love it! X vb' she wrote in early 2016 along with a picture of the cream.

She followed up with another post last July, although this time she reveals there is some link between herself and the creme creator, saying: 'Loving this new contour decolletage by my friend Dr Lancer kisses from Los Angeles.'

She has also been vocal about Dr Lancer's skincare range, saying: 'He's a dermatologist that I met in Los Angeles. I started going to him for oxygen facials, and I haven't looked back. I don't really use products other than his.

Beckham got in trouble after a post about Lancer Contour Décolleté skincare cream, worth almost $100

Beckham got in trouble after a post about Lancer Contour Décolleté skincare cream, worth almost $100

The mother-of-four has made multiple posts praising the product, including this one saying: 'Loving this new contour decolletage by my friend Dr Lancer kisses from Los Angeles'

The mother-of-four has made multiple posts praising the product, including this one saying: 'Loving this new contour decolletage by my friend Dr Lancer kisses from Los Angeles'

She has also made several posts about Dr Lancer's other products on social media
She has also made several posts about Dr Lancer's other products on social media

She has also made several posts about Dr Lancer's other products on social media

'David uses all my Lancer products. So we share all of our beauty products.'

However, the FTC said that there was a 'material connection' between Beckham and the marketer of the product, which should have been 'clearly and conspicuously disclosed.'

Beckham was one of almost 100 celebrities, athletes, social media influencers and companies contact last month in an FTC crackdown on social media promotion, a Freedom of Information request by the National Law Journal revealed.

Other celebs contacted include model Heidi Klum, actress Lindsay Lohan, Jersey Shore reality star Snooki, ex-basketball star Allen Iverson and singer Jennifer Lopez.

Snooki, aka Nicole Polizzi, was called out over the post of her holding up a pack of Flat Tummy Tea with the caption: 'There's just NO WAY I'm doing summer without a flat tummy.'

Lopez was contacted over her Instagram post of herself against the backdrop of vodka bottles, with a caption that stated: 'Thanks again @vodkabeluga.' 

Lopez was contacted over her Instagram post of herself against the backdrop of vodka bottles, with a caption that stated: 'Thanks again @vodkabeluga'

Lopez was contacted over her Instagram post of herself against the backdrop of vodka bottles, with a caption that stated: 'Thanks again @vodkabeluga'

The agency found that simply saying 'thank you', or posting acronyms such as #sp, for sponsored post, was not enough to alert most consumers that the post had been paid for.

The FTC are not taking action against the celebrities, but were simply contacting them to remind them of the rules.

The warnings come in response to a complaint filed last September by Public Citizen and three affiliated watchdog organizations, which asked them to ibvestigate posts by 113 influencers. 

Cosmetics and beauty companies are among the worst offenders for failing to get their endorsers to make it clear they are being paid to do so.

 

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