The Advertising Authority of Ireland have said influencers will have to tell their followers when their photos are edited.
Just last week an Instagram account called @bullshitcalleroutter shared photos side by side of bloggers and influencers, claiming many were using apps like face tune to alter their photos.
After the account went viral, bloggers like Joanne Larby and Rosie Connolly admitted they had been editing their photos, with Rosie saying she won’t be editing them anymore.
Speaking to Evoke.ie, the ASAI said bloggers will have to declare if a photo has been edited, if they are advertising a product or brand.
“If there is post-production techniques that has to be declared and transparent. It should be declared if the image has been physically altered and this disclaimer should be visible in the promotion material,” a representative said.
“The editing of images and specifically the use of photo editing apps in order to mislead consumers falls directly under the misleading advertising section of The ASAI’s Code of Standards for Advertising and Marketing Standards in Ireland (Section 4).
“A marketing communication should not mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise.
“Advertisers should not exploit the credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of consumers.
“The Code sections mentioned above could directly be applied to an advertisement whereby an advertiser (blogger or otherwise) is being paid to promote a product and where the advertiser has edited the image to create a misleading representation of the results achieved from using that product or service.”
