ASCI calls out LinkedIn influencers: 'Chup chup disclosure se chupna kya?'

After cracking down on health influencers and finfluencers, the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) has seemingly turned its attention towards the growing trend of "Linkedfluencers" or influencers on the professional networking platform LinkedIn. The CEO and Secretary General of ASCI, Manisha Kapoor took to LinkedIn to issue a stern warning to these influencers who don't adhere to the standard format for promotional write-ups over the platform.

The move comes after ASCI was tagged in a post about an agency co-founder who promoted an ad campaign. While such posts are commonplace on LinkedIn and are often put up to acknowledge good work, Kapoor said that it raised suspicion because a few others were discussing the same ad in a similar vein. 

After being called out, the co-founder added the hashtag "#ad" to the post, which prompted Kapoor to respond. 

ASCI along with many government bodies has been working to develop a framework in order to rein in unruly influencers since a lot of money and consumers' trust are on the line. LinkedIn influencers have flown under the radar so far with most of the attention being on health influencers and finfluencers. 

Kapoor reiterated that the ASCI guidelines also apply to LinkedIn influencers and any promotional post on the platform should have complete disclosure. "Both the ASCI code and the law demand that disclosure should be PROMINENT and UPFRONT. In this case, the word "ad" was placed at the very end of the entire post," wrote Kapoor.

She added that as a consumer, it's essential to know whether something is an ad before engaging with it. "When organic content and promotions blur, it becomes the influencer's responsibility to declare a paid promotion. This can be done either through the platform's disclosure tool or with an upfront declaration," she added.

Kapoor also asked Linkedfluencers to not promote stuff that has restrictions on advertising, add the hashtag ad or partnership or other appropriate labels upfront and at the beginning of the post, not buried at the end, and educate themselves on the laws and regulations that govern their profession.

The ASCI CEO wrote that she came across another incident where the post was appreciating a liquor brand, which can invite legal trouble. She said, “This person's LinkedIn profile identified them as a 'Marketing professional with a digital mindset.' Again, the disclosure 'ad' appeared at the very end of the post. But besides the problematic disclosure, this individual and the advertiser also seemed unaware that directly promoting liquor could potentially lead to legal trouble!”

“It's evident that many well-paid and highly placed professionals are augmenting their income through influencing on LinkedIn. Under the guise of professional opinions, we see paid ads in many posts. There's nothing inherently wrong with ads, but promoting them without proper disclosures can invite ASCI action, and possibly the from the law too.”

Her post ended, advising LinkedIn influencers to keep these guidelines in mind and not be afraid of identifying as a promotional writer. She said in a humoristic tone, “Why would you want to risk your reputation and be called out on LinkedIn!”

e4m reached out to Kapoor to understand whether there will be any new guidelines for LinkedIn influencers. Kapoor said the existing guidelines are enough as they want influencers to be upfront about promotional posts. LinkedIn has also been taking steps for the platform's influencers to nurse them with various norms.