Criticism of Justin Bieber NFT promotions

Truth in Advertising (TINA.org), a watchdog organisation for consumers, has accused 19 celebrities, including Justin Bieber, of NFTs promotions without declaring their affiliation with the projects.

On its website, the non-profit group has claimed to have looked into "celebrities that advocate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on their social media platforms" and discovered that "it is a sector replete with fraud."

The celebrities include Justin Bieber, Floyd Mayweather, Tom Brady, Eminem, Snoop Dog, and Gwyneth Paltrow. All of the celebrities have received letters requesting that they immediately disclose any material connections they may have with NFT companies or brands they have promoted.

While no legal penalties have been imposed, the non-profit organisation stated that it sent letters to the celebrities involved, detailing their objections and informing them of the harmful effect shilling NFTs may have on the public.

One of the key concerns expressed by the group in the letters is that the potential financial risks connected with investing in such speculative digital assets are not acknowledged.

TINA.org addressed letters to the legal teams of Reese Witherspoon and Justin Bieber for NFT promotion on their social media profiles without revealing their affiliation to the initiatives.

Bieber's legal team responded, denying any wrongdoing but indicating that the posts would be corrected.

Witherspoon's legal team approached TINA.org, stating that the actress is not materially benefitting in any way from promoting the NFTs in question.

TINA.org highlights FTC guidelines

According to TINA.org, the above-stated celebrities could violate the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) guidelines on using endorsements and testimonials in Advertising.

The advocacy organisation refers to the FTC website, which states that influencers must disclose any substantial ties to the products they promote. The disclosures must be clear, straightforward, noticeable, and contained within the endorsement.

So far, there hasn't been a publicised example of a celebrity incurring legal consequences for promoting NFTs or cryptocurrency.

Several class action lawsuits are pending, most notably against Elon Musk for supporting Dogecoin and Mark Cuban for promoting crypto offerings and services by Voyager.