What’s your following worth?

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According to The New York Times, as the coronavirus continues to disrupt lives and livelihoods, influencers are offering free money to Instagram followers and gaining a lot more in return.

Questions:

  1. What are popular personalities paying fans to do?
  2. Where does the cash come from?
  3. Although the cash offers on Instagram may look like lifelines to some, discuss whether you think it is ethical to label them charities.
  4. What type of marketing have these Instagram offerings been tagged or called?  
  5. Why is the FTC so interested in the disclosures related to these offers?

Source:

Lorenz, T. (2020). Everyone Is Giving Away Cash on Instagram. The New York Times, April 27 (Retrievable online at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/style/instagram-cash-giveaways-coronavirus.html)