World Startup Convention fiasco: A lesson for influencers?
Influencers who were quite strident in their association with the festival initially quietly disassociated with it when things went south, raising some questions in influencer ethics
“Disheartened and devastated. What a shame for the entire startup ecosystem. Ankur Warikoo I was your fan,” read a LinkedIn post by had invested Rs 50 lakhs as a sponsor for the World Startup Convention, however, with the turn of events, legal recourse may be in the offing.
On a usual day, Warikoo gets a lot of praise from giddy followers, but his recent association with World Startup Convention has turned things on the head. Comments like Anant's have become rife across social media.
For the initiated, World Startup Convention, originally touted to be a “unique opportunity to connect with other entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders from around the world,” turned out to be a damp squib.
With ticket prices as high as Rs 3,600, the fest initially promised attendance of global leaders like Sunder Pichai, Elon Musk, and Gautam Adani amongst others, but the attendees were disappointed to know that there were very few investors. In the end, it even earned unfavourable comparisons with the doomed Fyre Festival. Talks of police cases and legal interventions have been plaguing the fest.
One of the biggest fallouts of this event is its impact on influencers like Warikoo, Chetan Bhagat and Raj Shamani who were vociferously promoting the event.
However, when things went south, these big names explained that they had long disassociated with the festival even though they were aware that their promotional videos were still circulating on the internet.
E4m reached out to Warikoo to understand his side of the story, he said, “I am not involved in the conceptualizing or organizing of the event. We had done an Instagram collab reel on 19th January where I spoke about the importance of funding for a startup and how this event could be a good opportunity to explore the same and meet other founders. The terms of the collab were clear that my video will NOT be used for promoting the event. However, I realized that this was not respected. While they took down ads of the video when we asked them to, the video was and is still being used on their website and in all of their communication.
“In January itself we distanced ourselves from the event. They repeatedly asked me to be present for the event, which we declined. As late as February we had to keep sending them emails asking them to take down ads they were running to promote the event using my video. It is really tragic to see how the event eventually ended up. It showed promise and could have genuinely helped founders if done the right way.” Warikoo also said that he is personally responding to the DMs he is receiving from people asking him for clarification.
This raises a question in basic influencer ethics: Don’t influencers have a responsibility towards their audience to vociferously disassociate with something with the same fervour as promoting them? We asked our experts.
Speaking on disassociation, the founders of One Hand Clap Media said that when influencers disassociate, sometimes they have contract clauses, wherein the termination has happened but they can’t talk about it publicly.
“However, it is fair to let people know they have not associated with the brand anymore but yes legally there might be a clause that doesn’t allow them to talk about it. And this can be one possible reason for these influencers to not come out and talk about it,” said the founders.
Iesh Dixit, Co-founder and CEO, Powerplay (Bengaluru-based SaaS startup), said: “While they may not be entirely responsible for the chaos that ensues, they should be held responsible for their promotion. An appropriate course of action by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) or another governing body is necessary to address this issue.”
Apoorv Bhatnagar, Co-Founder, The Plug Media, is not comfortable with judging the creators for the fate of the event, but does believe that due diligence should be a must. “With the government also regularizing the creator economy, both influencers and managers have become very conscious of their choices. This particular incident looks like a case of wrong portrayal by the organisers and hence it would be unfair to judge a particular creator for the consequences. However, all of us need to be more mindful and conduct thorough due diligence before associating with a particular brand.”
Ayush Shukla, the founder of Finnet Media, believes that while the influencers have a moral responsibility of informing their followers about their disassociation, it could be a case of an honest mistake. “They are not promoting scams; they were themselves scammed by the organisers. This campaign happened a few months ago and they just took an advantage of the video and started running ads. It was a mistake by the creators because they didn't do their due diligence but at the same time, they were also fooled by the organisers,” he adds.
Simple communication could have absolved the errant influencers and saved their followers from being misled, says Neel Gogia, Co-Founder, IPLIX Media: "If influencers have disassociated themselves from an event, we advise them to communicate this with their audience even if they are no longer affiliated with the company or event in question, especially if their content is still being used for the promotions of the event. This will ensure that others aren’t being misled or scammed."
The thought was also summed up by a comment on social media: “Influencers are not cops, and hence it is tough to accuse them of not doing adequate research. Everyone is a victim here (including the influencers) and everyone should come together against them. Nothing is going to come out of hating these influencers. I can say the same thing that the so-called investors didn't do their due diligence by doing a background check on WSC. Diligence is not a one-step process. It needs to be carried out at all levels.”
The CCPA has come out with guidelines for influencers. Flouting them can cost influencers a fine up to Rs 50 Lacs. E4m reached out to ASCI who said that this is a matter of CCPA and they should take some action. E4M also reached out to CCPA’s Anupam Mishra (Joint Secretary), who is yet to reply to our queries.
The incident will serve as a great case study in due diligence and the moral responsibility of influencers.
