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What about the people who promoted it without disclosing that they were paid to promote it? Certein Instagram celebrities come to mind.

nerdponx 8y ago
If they weren't in on the fraud, I'm not sure they should be held responsible.
- hartator 8y ago
  It dependa on how they presented it. If they didn’t say clearly it was an ad, or a sponsor, I think they should be held responsible.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  > If they weren't in on the fraud, I'm not sure they should be held responsible They shouldn't be held criminally responsible. Civilly, however? Fair game. If you make money selling a product, you have a duty to check it isn't a scam.
  - nerdponx 8y ago
    Isn't this a big issue with Amazon right now? What does the law say about it in that case?
  - charlesdm 8y ago
    Shouldn't that be the corporate entity which should be held responsible? Not employee ABC?
ceejayoz 8y ago
If paid product placement without a disclaimer is illegal, I'm not sure any major movies or TV shows are on good legal footing.
- sschueller 8y ago
  http://adage.com/article/digital/ftc-cracking-social-influencers-labeling-promotions/305345/ http://adage.com/article/digital/ftc-cracking-social-influen...
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    Huh, TIL! It seems very weird to apply this to Instagram and not movies, where undisclosed product placement is rampant.
    - oddevan 8y ago
      I know there's a huge swath of "promotional consideration" names at the end of a lot of shows now, so that might be where they dump a bunch of that stuff?
      - gowld 8y ago
        That's standard for game show prizes, obviously. I didn't realize it spread to other TV.
    - _bxg1 8y ago
      I think the difference is that celebrities and "influencers" are real (-ish) people, so if they say they recommend something, that's an actual piece of anecdotal data when deciding whether or not you want to buy into it yourself. If somebody in a movie says they're going to Fyre Festival, that might loosely associate the thing in your mind with "coolness" or whatever, but you're not going to mistake it for an actual endorsement from a real person.
    - n8henry 8y ago
      I think the law actually states that media that is meant to be shown in a theater is exempt. I guess as to not take away from the experience of watching the movie.
    - astura 8y ago
      Movies are fictional. If a celebrity is giving an endorsement in a scripted movie I'm obviously going to think of the endorsement differently if theyre giving it in an Instagram post. That's where the FTC says "hey, you have to be clear you are benefiting from this advertisement" because otherwise (in a movie) it would be clear the endorsement isn't personal or organic. Also not all of what you may call "product placements" in movies is paid. For one example, the red Swingline stapler in Office Space wasn't a paid product placement nor did Swingline even make a red version, it was a product invented for the movie, Mike Judge had an auto body shop do a paint job on a black stapler. Yet the movie created a market for red Swingline staplers, Swingline started producing red staplers, and it became their best selling product.
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
There are eight lawsuits in play; one has been settled [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival#Lawsuits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival#Lawsuits
lozenge 8y ago
The FTC's endorsement guide was only published in September 2017. Before then, nobody was following the rules. It would be pointless to pursue those who promoted Fyre Festival specifically, and impossible to pursue everybody.
- darpa_escapee 8y ago
  The guide is just that, a guide. It was published in an era where everyday YouTubers/Yelp reviewers/MLMs/affiliate marketers/etc, without the means to afford a legal team, are approached with endorsement deals. In the past, it was typically established celebrities or businesses who were approached for endorsement. The law behind the guide, Section 5 of the FTC Act, has been on the books for quite some time. The guide serves as an easily parsable reminder of that law.
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  I'm fairly certain there were regulations related to endorsement disclosure long before that guide was published.

nerdponx 8y ago

If they weren't in on the fraud, I'm not sure they should be held responsible.

hartator 8y ago
It dependa on how they presented it. If they didn’t say clearly it was an ad, or a sponsor, I think they should be held responsible.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> If they weren't in on the fraud, I'm not sure they should be held responsible They shouldn't be held criminally responsible. Civilly, however? Fair game. If you make money selling a product, you have a duty to check it isn't a scam.
- nerdponx 8y ago
  Isn't this a big issue with Amazon right now? What does the law say about it in that case?
- charlesdm 8y ago
  Shouldn't that be the corporate entity which should be held responsible? Not employee ABC?

ceejayoz 8y ago

If paid product placement without a disclaimer is illegal, I'm not sure any major movies or TV shows are on good legal footing.

sschueller 8y ago
http://adage.com/article/digital/ftc-cracking-social-influencers-labeling-promotions/305345/ http://adage.com/article/digital/ftc-cracking-social-influen...
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  Huh, TIL! It seems very weird to apply this to Instagram and not movies, where undisclosed product placement is rampant.
  - oddevan 8y ago
    I know there's a huge swath of "promotional consideration" names at the end of a lot of shows now, so that might be where they dump a bunch of that stuff?
    - gowld 8y ago
      That's standard for game show prizes, obviously. I didn't realize it spread to other TV.
  - _bxg1 8y ago
    I think the difference is that celebrities and "influencers" are real (-ish) people, so if they say they recommend something, that's an actual piece of anecdotal data when deciding whether or not you want to buy into it yourself. If somebody in a movie says they're going to Fyre Festival, that might loosely associate the thing in your mind with "coolness" or whatever, but you're not going to mistake it for an actual endorsement from a real person.
  - n8henry 8y ago
    I think the law actually states that media that is meant to be shown in a theater is exempt. I guess as to not take away from the experience of watching the movie.
  - astura 8y ago
    Movies are fictional. If a celebrity is giving an endorsement in a scripted movie I'm obviously going to think of the endorsement differently if theyre giving it in an Instagram post. That's where the FTC says "hey, you have to be clear you are benefiting from this advertisement" because otherwise (in a movie) it would be clear the endorsement isn't personal or organic. Also not all of what you may call "product placements" in movies is paid. For one example, the red Swingline stapler in Office Space wasn't a paid product placement nor did Swingline even make a red version, it was a product invented for the movie, Mike Judge had an auto body shop do a paint job on a black stapler. Yet the movie created a market for red Swingline staplers, Swingline started producing red staplers, and it became their best selling product.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

There are eight lawsuits in play; one has been settled [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival#Lawsuits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival#Lawsuits

lozenge 8y ago

The FTC's endorsement guide was only published in September 2017. Before then, nobody was following the rules. It would be pointless to pursue those who promoted Fyre Festival specifically, and impossible to pursue everybody.

darpa_escapee 8y ago
The guide is just that, a guide. It was published in an era where everyday YouTubers/Yelp reviewers/MLMs/affiliate marketers/etc, without the means to afford a legal team, are approached with endorsement deals. In the past, it was typically established celebrities or businesses who were approached for endorsement. The law behind the guide, Section 5 of the FTC Act, has been on the books for quite some time. The guide serves as an easily parsable reminder of that law.
s73v3r_ 8y ago
I'm fairly certain there were regulations related to endorsement disclosure long before that guide was published.