Unilever is going to stop working with influencers who buy followers on social media

Consumer goods giant Unilever is cutting ties with so-called “influencers” on social media in a bid to make advertising more transparent.

Influencers, such as celebrities and social media personalities, help expand a company’s advertising reach and digital message by posting about the brand’s products for a certain fee. The more of an audience an influencer has, the higher the fee they can command.

Recently, influencers have begun buying followers to earn themselves more money, which Unilever says is unethical and erodes public trust.

Unilever’s chief marketing office Keith Weed told Reuters that he had sought the assurance of soap maker Dove and Hellmann’s mayonnaise that they would never buy followers or work with influencers that did.

“Trust comes on foot and leaves on horseback, and we could very quickly see the whole influencer space be undermined,” Weed told the agency. “There are lots of great influencers out there, but there are a few bad apples spoiling the barrel and the trouble is, everyone goes down once the trust is undermined.”

Read more: Influencers must work hard to earn trust in 2018