Influencers have been banned from appearing in federal government campaigns following a review by the Department of Health into the funding of social media stars.
The review began in late July when The Daily Tele revealed Minister Greg Hunt’s department had forked out more than $600,000 of taxpayers’ dollars for its #GirlsMakeYourMove social media campaign in the last 18 months.
Now, the government has been told by the Assitant Minister of Finance David Coleman to stop social media influencer funding in every department.
According to The Tele, Coleman said: “The government has recently reviewed the use of social media influencers and determined that they will not be used in future campaigns.
The backlash against the social media influencer funding worsened when it was reported some of the influencer paid to take part in the #GirlsMakeYourMove campaign – which spruiked health and wellbeing – also plugged alcohol on their channels.
As well as this, one particular influencer included in the campaign had previously been forced to apologise for racist content.
At the time of the initial review, Hunt said: “There would need to be a demonstrated benefit and demonstrated suitability of any individual going forward, for this to recommence.
“This would need to include a thorough assessment and vetting process linked to improving the health of Australians.”
