Chiara Ferragni is required to pay a substantial amount after misleading 30 million followers into paying for a fake charity cake.
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Chiara Ferragni, known as Italy’s most famous influencer, was fined approximately $2 million after being caught deceiving her 30 million followers by falsely claiming that the sales of a cake she was promoting would benefit charities, such as a children’s cancer hospital in Turin.
The influencer was fined the equivalent of $1.2 million by AGCM, the competition authority. The cake manufacturer Balocco was also fined $460,000 for deceiving customers by claiming that the cake’s sales would benefit a charity against bone cancer.
The company only paid $55,000 to the hospital months before the launch of Ferragni’s cake, and the influencer made no donations, while her companies received 1 million euros – that is, $1.1 million – for the collaboration with the brand.
The influencer stated that she is fighting against the “disproportionate and unfair” fine imposed by the authorities, claiming that she made a communication error and assures her followers that “… if the final sanction is – as I hope – lower than that decided by the AGCM, the difference will be added to the million euros.”
