RECENTLY, the Punjab government completed 100 days in power and engaged conventional and social media influencers to propagate its achievements. As such, some influencers have come forward and claimed that this was a paid campaign, which has sparked a rather unending debate on various platforms over the credibility of influencers as well as their ethical considerations.

If you are getting paid for your service or to endorse a tangible commercial product, getting compensation is quite straightforward. However, if you have to endorse a political idea or a social cause, it requires careful evaluation from ethical perspective. If you do not do it because of your beliefs and your experience, but rather as a paid opportunity and without any disclaimer for the audience, then you are potentially misleading your viewers and not being honest with them about the authenticity of your message.

In essence, doing this will defeat the purpose of being an influencer and, instead of changing their views, you will lose the trust of your followers. Therefore, all influencers should consider drawing a line between business as well as political or social causes. Finally, they must be honest with their followers who love, admire and respect them for their work they have been doing as a profession.

Mariam Khan
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2024