The commercial nature of content should not be hidden from the audience
Influencer and affiliate marketing can look like ordinary personal content. The relevant questions include control, payment or another commercial relationship, how the post is labelled and the overall impression at the point the audience sees it.
Identify
Record the people and commercial relationship
Record the account, advertiser, agency if known, product, platform, discount code, affiliate link and any visible disclosure. Do not assume that a free product or affiliate commission is irrelevant. The exact facts affect which rules apply.
Evidence
Preserve content before it disappears
Capture the full story or post, opening frame, caption, labels, audio, comments relied on and click-through page. Record the date, time, URL and account. A cropped screenshot can remove the context needed to assess whether advertising was recognisable.
Presentation
Assess prominence and first impression
Consider whether the commercial nature was apparent immediately, before engagement or expansion. A vague label, distant hashtag or platform tool may not answer the whole question. Describe what the ordinary viewer saw, not only the advertiser's intended meaning.
Claims
Separate disclosure from truthfulness
A post can raise two different issues: whether it was identifiable as advertising and whether its claims were misleading, harmful or inadequately substantiated. State each issue separately and avoid a long list of weak points.
Routes
Use ASA, trader, platform and payment routes for different purposes
- ASA: advertising code and presentation.
- Trader: refund, cancellation, performance or contractual remedy.
- Platform: content or account report under platform rules.
- Payment provider: recovery route where eligible.
- Trading Standards or sector regulator: wider conduct where appropriate.
Consumer loss
Do not make the influencer complaint carry the whole dispute
If money was lost, identify the legal trader, order, payment and promised product. Complain to that trader and protect chargeback, Section 75, ADR or court deadlines. The person promoting the product may not be the contracting seller.
Submit
Make the advertising complaint easy to test
- Identify the post and advertiser.
- Attach the complete captured content.
- State the commercial indicator or relationship known.
- Explain the disclosure or claim problem.
- Keep personal redress on its separate route.
Commercial link
Payment is not the only relevant benefit
A commercial relationship can involve money, free products, trips, gifts, commission, affiliate revenue or another benefit. Control over the content can also matter. Preserve what is visible and avoid making unsupported assumptions about undisclosed arrangements.
The advertiser and publisher may both have responsibilities. Identify each party and the post, rather than directing a vague complaint at “social media”.
Format
Stories, short video, live content and audio
A disclosure should work in the format in which the audience receives the content. Consider the first frame, duration, contrast, audio, caption and whether a user must click or expand. A label that appears briefly or only at the end may not give the initial audience a clear understanding.
Screen recording can preserve sequence and sound more accurately than isolated screenshots. Retain the original file and note the device and time.
Reviews and testimonials
Genuine experience does not remove the need for transparency
A person may honestly like a product and still be publishing advertising. Disclosure and truthfulness are separate. Testimonials should not be used to make objective claims that the advertiser could not substantiate directly.
Preserve claims about typical results, before-and-after images, filters and qualifications. Health, beauty and financial claims can carry additional risk and specialist rules.
Audience
Children and vulnerable audiences
Record whether the content, platform, creator or product is likely to appeal particularly to children or another vulnerable group. The presentation of pressure, body image, gambling-like features, health claims or unsafe imitation may raise issues beyond simple disclosure.
Resolution
What a useful outcome looks like
The advertising outcome may be clearer labelling, removal, corrected claims or a published ruling. The consumer outcome may be a refund, cancellation or payment recovery. State both where relevant, but send each request to the body able to act on it.
Official sources
Check the current official route
- ASA: make a complaint
- ASA: report an online scam ad
- CAP and BCAP Advertising Codes
- CMA: unfair commercial practices
Contact details, opening arrangements, jurisdiction and scheme rules can change. Check the live official page before acting on a formal deadline or route.