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A bunch of TikTokers are getting paid thousands of dollars a month to make ads that don’t look like ads at all.
The videos look like regular UGC (user-generated content), but they’re actually a stealth way creators can promote a brand, according to The Wall Street Journal. One creator, Ceci Beck, was paid more than $800 to run an account showing her getting dumped over and over, always using the same voice-dictation app. She says she now averages $6,000 a month doing this kind of work.
The posts rarely disclose that they’re ads, even though that violates the rules on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, plus FTC guidelines. One creator, Kassi Meyer, asked her campaign manager whether to label a video as an ad. “Say it’s not,” came the reply, over text, with a smiley face.
Brooks Langford, who couldn’t find a job in his field after college, earns $1,000 to $2,000 a month doing this as a side hustle. So far, regulators aren’t cracking down hard. “It doesn’t seem like enforcing ad disclosure requirements on social media is a top priority right now,” said Rob Freund, an advertising attorney.