Disclose your contacts when you endorse NFTs, consumer group tells Mayweather, Paris Hilton and other celebrities
A US-based consumer group has issued a warning to celebrities against promoting NFT projects without disclosing their connections or material gains from these activities. Truth in Advertising (TINA) warned Floyd Mayweather, Paris Hilton, DJ Khaled and a dozen others who have been pushing NFTs on social media in recent months.
This week, TINA reminded celebrities that they have a legal obligation to disclose any material affiliation with any company they promote, under Federal Trade Commission (FTC) law. The group names boxer Mayweather (not the first time he has been linked to digital asset-related crime), socialite Paris Hilton, actresses Eva Longoria and Gwyneth Paltrow, rappers Eminem and Meek Mill, and singer Madonna, among the many celebrities who have promoted NFT projects .
TINA also named Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), World of Women and Autograph as some of the NFT collections that the celebrities have promoted.
“But the bottom line is that celebrities who promote NFTs generally do not help improve the financial literacy of their fans and followers. And while some of these celebrities are able to take risks because of their vast wealth, many have vulnerable do not consume that luxury”, concluded the consumer group.
The latest warning came just two months after TINA issued a warning to musician Justin Bieber and actress Reese Witherspoon. Bieber has been promoting InBetweeners, an NFT collection that features him as a “partner” on the site.
In response has Pardon and Love yourself The hitmaker’s legal team denied any wrongdoing. However, it claimed it would “update his posts regarding inBetweeners to further emphasize his much-publicized connection with that company. To date, no changes have been made.
Witherspoon has been pushing the World of Women collection without disclosing that her company, Hello Sunshine, has a partnership with the collection.
In response has Legally Blond star claimed that the partnership was solely to push women into NFTs and that it represented no material gains for her.
TINA alleges that the stars have violated the FTC Act which states: “If an endorser has a material connection to a brand and/or company, that material connection must be clearly and prominently disclosed because it may affect the weight or credibility of consumers giving the endorsement. “
Some celebrities named on the list have been accused of other digital asset-related crimes, mostly related to pushing dubious projects. Mayweather, for example, was a key figure in the promotion of EthereumMax, a shitcoin that has plummeted to near zero, along with socialite Kim Kardashian.
See: The presentation of the BSV Global Blockchain Convention, NFTs: What Can We Do Better?
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