London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jan 16, 2026

Love Island contestants called out over social media ads

Love Island contestants called out over social media ads

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has named six influencers it says are "consistently failing to disclose advertising" on Instagram.

It said the six, who include Love Islanders Jess and Eve Gale and Belle Hassan, have all previously been warned about breaking advertising rules.

It is part of its policy of listing repeat rule-breakers on its website.

The watchdog is now taking out ads alerting consumers to the rule breaches.

Ads are also being taken out against Jodie Marsh, Anna Vakili and Francesca Allen.

The ASA is running the campaign for two weeks and could take further action against influencers who continue to break the rules by referring them to other watchdogs that can offer fines.

UK advertising rules state that paid posts must be clearly marked with #ad or Instagram's paid partnership feature.

Shahriar Coupal heads up advertising policy at the ASA and says "it's important social media followers are told" about what influencers are doing.

"In a new front of enforcement activity, we're using targeted ads to highlight the breaches of six social media personalities to the very same audience they are seeking to influence," she adds.

'It's your income'
Shaughna Phillips says she is "always transparent" with followers


Shaughna Phillips was on Love Island in 2020 and says finding the right tone with advertising online is often difficult, but that she is "always transparent" with her followers.

"They're your consumers, you don't want to mislead them in any way," she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"I have to agree with what I'm promoting and it has to be in the interest of my followers, but I also don't want an ad to perform badly for a brand, I want it to get the best coverage and engagement possible," she says.

Shaughna says that it's easy for Instagram to become filled with adverts and paid promotions from influencers, but people forget that they're also an important source of income.

"Even though it might look like you're doing a lot of ads, that could potentially be your rent for that month, so you might sometimes not have a choice," she says.

"It can saturate your brand though - if you've done one that people haven't bought into and haven't enjoyed, they might just not look at anything you post after that."

She also says influencers need good management to ensure they put across the right image online.


The government is currently looking into the effect influencers have on social media and met on Tuesday to discuss whether more needs to be done to regulate paid ads and promotions.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee met with leaders from Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to look at what could change.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
×