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What the numbers say: A recent analysis from dappGambl has examined 1,161 videos from 594 well-known crypto influencers on TikTok to identify how trustworthy these contents are. The study results have shown that 37% of crypto videos on the platform are misleading and do not feature a financial disclaimer. The research also found that these videos either encourage users to invest their own money in a specific crypto asset or imply some kind of investment return. Details: dappGambl said the misleading content creators have 145,000 followers on average, and the misleading videos had more than 189 million views in total. The analysis has also revealed that Bitcoin (BTC) is the most mentioned crypto asset across the misleading TikTok content, with a 34.9% rate. In the top 10, Bitcoin was respectively followed by Ripple, Ethereum, Cardano, Hbar, Gala, Shiba Inu, Solana, Dogecoin, and VeChain. Relevance: In the U.S., several celebrities and social media influencers have recently come under fire by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory agencies for promoting digital assets. Last year, Kim Kardashian had to pay a $1.26M fine to settle with the SEC since she promoted Ethereum Max’s EMAX token without properly disclosing that she was paid $250,000 for the promotion. In February, former NBA star Paul Pierce was also fined $1.4M by the SEC for the same offense as Kim Kardashian. In March, YouTubers such as Kevin Paffrath, Ben Armstrong, and Jake Paul and celebrities like Tom Brady, Larry David, Stephen Curry, Lindsay Lohan, and Shaquille O’Neal similarly faced potential legal actions in FTX- and Tron-related lawsuits. Brands that should care: Analysts estimate that other social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, also contain a remarkable amount of misleading crypto content. In late 2022, a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report showed that 32% of victims scammed on social media reported the origin of the scam activity as Instagram. |
