A watchdog organization dedicated to the safety of consumers accused Hollywood actors, artists, and athletes of endorsing non-fungible tokens. Truth in Advertising (TINA) called out the likes of Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Jimmy Fallon for affiliating with the digital assets.
While the personalities are outspoken about their support for NFTs and blockchain-based entertainment, TINA saw this as a digital scam and could harm their fans.
TINA sent letters to the celebs asking them if they have any ties with the NFT businesses associated with them.
Did the NFTs violate FTC Guidelines?
The non-profit organization pointed out the celebs for only showing that NFTs “are the future” and not the risks of purchasing them. For TINA, NFTs are deceptive assets that lead to nothing for the buyers. The members dedicated their time to sending letters to as many celebrities as possible.
According to their official website, “TINA.org sends letters to more than a dozen celebrities putting them on notice of the applicable law to the extent they have a material connection to any of the NFT companies they promote that may not be obvious to those viewing their posts.”
TINA also included a direct link to the official Federal Trade Commission website. The context includes a callout on influencers that they should admit whatever association they have with the NFTs they promote. FTC regulations state that sellers must declare all associated brands and companies for their endorsement. Still, since NFTs are fairly new, there are no updated rules that include blockchain-based assets.
Celebs called out for violating FTC guidelines
The advocacy group includes a link to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website, stating that influencers must make obvious, unambiguous, conspicuous, and within the endorsement any significant relationships they may have to the products they are promoting.
According to a blog post on TINA.org’s website, the aforementioned celebrities might infringe on FTC regulations governing influencer standards and the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.
Besides TINA, investors who lost money have also declared class action lawsuits that are currently pending. Included are Elon Musk for his consecutive tweets about Dogecoins and Mark Cuban, who shamelessly hard-sold the Voyager platform to individuals with limited capital.
