Molly-Mae's Instagram Post Banned By Watchdog

One of Molly-Mae's Instagram posts has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The former Love Island contestant, who became the creative director of PrettyLittleThing (PLT) back in August 2021, shared a post on 31 October 2021, posing with a PLT dress.

She captioned the upload: "You can actually shop it now on PLT - couldn't not make it available for you guys too", alongside a website link.

However, as she seemingly promoted the brand without making it clear that it was a commercial post, which is supposedly mentioned in her contractual agreement, the post was banned by the ASA.

It's being said that the company was aware of the mistake and have reminded the reality star to make the relevant information clear in the future.

The ASA said: “We noted that the story had appeared in Molly-Mae Hague's own account and did not contain any indication that it was a marketing communication.

“We considered that, while some of her followers may have known that she was a creative director at PrettyLittleThing, it was not immediately clear to all consumers that she had a commercial interest in PrettyLittleThing from the post itself.”

Earlier last year, the ASA also announced that influencers can no longer use ‘misleading’ filters in paid beauty adverts.

The ASA made the decision after make-up artist Sasha Pallari’s #filterdrop campaign, which encouraged UK influencers to show their ‘real skin’ when promoting beauty products.

Pallari said she was 'over the moon' about the ASA's new rules, adding it was a 'huge step in the right direction'.

"I feel like the detrimental effect this is having on social media users has finally been taken seriously and this is a huge step in the right direction for how filters are used and the way cosmetics are advertised online," she said.

"I can now help make a difference to how these women view themselves in the mirror and that's amazing."

A spokesman for the ASA added: "An ongoing focus of our work in this area continues to be on raising awareness of the rules and supporting influencers with the guidance and tools they need to help get their ads right.

"We're also working closely with the social media platforms who can and will enforce our rulings where an advertiser is unwilling or able to work with us."

Despite makes progress with the ruling, Pallari said she would continue to fight to get face-altering filters removed from Instagram altogether.

"There's no point coming this far, to only come this far," she said.

"How can Instagram agree to remove filters that promote plastic surgery, but not filters that alter your shape - how else are we going to alter our face without plastic surgery?"