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Frontiers: How Much Influencer Marketing Is Undisclosed? Evidence from Twitter

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Ershov

    (School of Management, University College London, London E14 5AA, United Kingdom; and Center for Economic Policy Research, London EC1V 0DX, United Kingdom)

  • Yanting He

    (Business School, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom)

  • Stephan Seiler

    (Center for Economic Policy Research, London EC1V 0DX, United Kingdom; and Business School, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom)

Abstract

We study the disclosure of influencer posts on Twitter across a large set of brands based on a unique data set of over 100 million posts and a novel classification method to detect undisclosed sponsorship. Using our preferred empirical specification, we find that 96% of sponsored posts are not disclosed. This result is robust to a series of specification tests, and even a lower-bound classification still yields an undisclosed share of 82%. Despite stronger enforcement of disclosure regulations, the share of undisclosed posts decreases only slightly over time. Compared with disclosed posts, undisclosed posts tend to be associated with young brands with a large Twitter following. Using an online survey, we find that many consumers are not able to identify sponsored content without disclosure. Our findings highlight a potential need for further regulatory scrutiny and suggest that researchers studying influencers must account for undisclosed sponsored content.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Ershov & Yanting He & Stephan Seiler, 2025. "Frontiers: How Much Influencer Marketing Is Undisclosed? Evidence from Twitter," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(3), pages 505-515, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:44:y:2025:i:3:p:505-515
    DOI: 10.1287/mksc.2024.0838
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