Audiences don't trust creators to come clean about brand deals

Audiences are skeptical that creators are disclosing paid relationships with brands.

Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

• Influencers have a trust problem with their audiences around brand deals.
• People think creators should disclose paid deals, but only a quarter think influencers do so regularly.
• Audience trust is critical as the creator economy grows as a marketing channel.

There's a trust gap between creators and their audiences around brand deals.

Sixty-nine percent of US adults think creators should disclose paid promotions, but only one in four think influencers actually do so consistently, according to a survey by Morning Consult conducted exclusively for Business Insider, of roughly 2,000 people in September.

Emily Steele, CEO of Hummingbirds, a marketing platform that connects creators with retailers, said she blames the distrust on the growing number of creators out for a quick buck.

"There are creators who only post UGC or sponsored content without any cohesion around what they're posting about and why," she said. "Why would I, as a follower, trust you when I feel like all you post is a paid brand deal?"

Influencers themselves say they disclose brand deals far more often than the audience seems to think. A recent SheSpeaks survey found that 14% of creators said they didn't always disclose brand ties, while 18% said a brand had explicitly requested that they not disclose a partnership in the past year.

Creators have spent years convincing marketers to take them seriously. Now, the creator economy has become an established marketing channel, with advertisers expected to spend $44 billion with creators in the US this year, more than tripling in five years, per the Interactive Advertising Bureau. As more ad dollars flow into the space, creators have to ensure they retain the audience trust that makes them valuable to marketers in the first place.

More distrustful with age

There is broad agreement among age cohorts that influencers should disclose their paid posts, but older audiences are more likely to believe creators don't always do so.

Fifty-three percent of boomers say influencers rarely or never clearly disclose paid deals, versus 21% of Gen Z.

Boomers feel less rosy about creators generally. The research from Morning Consult also found boomers were less trusting of influencers, skeptical of their recommendations, and more likely to find their content "annoying." This could partly be because marketers, who often target young consumers, tend to work with influencers whose content isn't relatable to older audiences, industry insiders said.

Leila Marsh, chief talent officer of The Drive Agency, said older people grew up seeing celebrity endorsements in which the financial relationship is clear, whereas many creator partnerships appear on mobile screens with disclosure language that is small and potentially unfamiliar to them.

"They may fly under the radar until someone scrolls and sees 'hashtag partner,'" she said of the disclosures.

Disclosure comes with a catch

Creators face a dilemma with disclosures.

Finding out that content is sponsored makes people across all age and income groups trust it less.

There are ways creators can improve their sponsored content, though. The survey found people were most likely to trust a sponsored post's authenticity when the creator said what they liked or disliked, if they appeared to use the product themselves, and if they said why they chose the brand.

Colin Rocker, a careers-focused creator, said it's a balancing act to promote a brand's message in a video while staying true to his voice, knowing how suspicious audiences are.

"Most people that don't create content have a base level of distrust today against content creators that we're always up against," he said.

Jennifer Santos, programs director of the Institute for Responsible Influence, part of the Center for Industry Self-Regulation, said disclosure remains important because concealment is what really damages trust. The institute's own 2025 survey found seven in 10 consumers would feel deceived or negatively toward a creator who didn't disclose a brand deal.

"Audiences respond to honesty, and they're quick to punish anything that feels hidden," she said.

Santos believes that trust will become a competitive advantage as audiences grow more skeptical.

"Creators who can show they understand the rules and follow them consistently will be the partners brands want and that audiences trust," she said.