The Bachelor’s Bella Varelis is busted using a sneaky editing trick to hide the fact that her Instagram posts are sponsored
The Bachelor’s Bella Varelis has found a sneaky way to circumvent Australia’s strict rules about declaring whether an Instagram post is sponsored.
While it is mandatory for Australian influencers to disclose paid-for content, Bella has been making it extremely difficult for her fans to notice that several of her Instagram posts are branded.
As revealed by Celeb Spellcheck’s copycat page on Tuesday, Bella has been deliberately concealing the word ‘#ad’ in her sponsored Instagram Story videos by placing it directly underneath her profile picture.
Busted: The Bachelor’s Bella Varelis (pictured) has found a sneaky way to circumvent Australia’s strict rules about declaring whether an Instagram post is sponsored
To view the word ‘#ad’, users must hold their finger down on the app to pause the video – therefore making Bella’s profile picture momentarily disappear.
It is unclear whether Bella has breached Australia’s strict regulations about influencers sharing branded content on social media.
In 2017, a new code regarding social media influencers was introduced by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA).
Hmm: As revealed by Celeb Spellcheck’s copycat page on Tuesday, Bella has been deliberately concealing the word ‘#ad’ in her sponsored Instagram Story videos by placing it directly underneath her profile picture
According to Triple J Hack, the code states that influencers ‘must clearly label sponsored posts’ or face a penalty.
The ‘real danger’ faced by social media users who don’t declare sponsored posts is prosecution by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for breach of Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
Breaching the ACL carries a maximum fine of $220,000 per post for an influencer, and $1.1million for a brand.
Peek-a-boo: To view the word ‘#ad’, users must hold their finger down on the app to pause the video – therefore making Bella’s profile picture momentarily disappear
While most influencers are reluctant to state when they are being paid for a certain post, there are more subtle ways to declare that content is actually advertising.
Many users simply include the hashtags ‘#sp’ or ‘#ad’ somewhere in their lengthy captions, indicating that the post is ‘sponsored’ or an ‘advertisement’.
At present, no influencer has been prosecuted in Australia for not declaring an ad.
Post responsibly: According to Triple J Hack, breaching the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) can have financial repercussions. Pictured: Sophie Tieman, who complied with the legal requirements in this advert for Bondi Boost hair products
According to ACL, a ‘person, individual or corporation must not engage in conduct which will mislead or deceive other people’, according to Legal Vision.
‘Therefore, the ACL can consider influencer marketing misleading under its provisions if the influencer does not disclose that they are receiving remuneration.’
In October, Ad Standards wrote: ‘There are no rules in Australia that require you to use #ad or #spon. However, the AANA do recommend using it for paid-for posts as it is a simple way to ensure your followers can distinguish it as advertising.’
No matter how an influencer declares a paid-for endorsement, the number one rule is they must ‘ensure the ad is distinguishable’ to their followers.
Playing by the rules: To comply with the regulations, influencers can use hashtags such as ‘#ad’ and ‘#sp’ in their captions. Pictured: A sponsored post by MAFS’ Cameron Merchant (pictured with Jules Robinson) for Fitness Playground that includes the hashtag ‘#ad’ (circled)