Cardi B is among the many celebrities and influencers who received a warning from the Federal Trade Commission regarding their failure to disclose their paid endorsements from tea company, Teami, in their sponsored Instagram advertisements for Teami products. The FTC has declared that Teami, a company that sells "detox tea" products claiming to help with weight loss and even treat diseases, is guilty of misleading consumers with their advertisements. Teami has been accused of violating the FTC's Endorsement Guides by paying influencers and celebrities to advertise their products on social media without requiring that these accounts disclose that these ads were sponsored.
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"Today, there are more than 1 million Instagram posts that bear hashtags associated with detox teas on Instagram," said Laura Smith, legal director of Truth in Advertising. "This means that on any given day, a countless number of young consumers are exposed to this egregious and widespread deceptive marketing issue." The FTC has ordered the company to halt all misleading advertisements and return $1,000,000 to "consumers who were harmed."
Further, the FTC has issued warnings to these celebrities and influencers like Cardi B who failed to disclose their sponsorship, including Jordin Sparks, Adrienne Bailon, Alexa PenaVega, Brittany Renner, and more. While stars like Kylie Jenner and Demi Lovato have previously been paid by Teami to advertise their products over social media, they did not receive warning letters from the commission.
