Influencer Chiara Ferragni fined $1.2 million
Fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni's company must pay a fine of $1.18 million. This was reported by the Italian Antimonopoly Service.
Together with Balocco, Ferragni created a series of Christmas cakes. The advertising campaign stated that part of the money from the sale of the product would be transferred to a children's charity. However, the antimonopoly service conducted an audit and found that no contributions had been received from Ferragni. Representatives of the organization said that advertising and higher prices (a regular cupcake from this brand costs four euros, and a limited edition from a blogger costs nine euros) mislead consumers into thinking that by buying a cake they are making a direct contribution to a cancer research charity in a hospital in Turin. At the same time, Ferragni's company received more than a million dollars for branding changes and related advertising activities.
After the scandal arose, the blogger made a statement in which she called the situation a consequence of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Chiara stated that she considered the punishment unfair, promised to challenge it and in the future to separate charity and commerce.
Chiara Ferragni is one of the most famous and highly paid fashion bloggers in the world. Almost 30 million users are subscribed to her Instagram*.
