Influencer marketing continues to grow, but American consumers remain more skeptical of content creators than traditional advertising, according to new research from BBB National Programs.
The “2025 Influencer Trust Index” indicates 82.7% of U.S. marketers now leverage influencer partnerships in creative campaigns. Consumer behavior validates this investment, with 58% of survey respondents reporting they have made purchases based on influencer endorsements, and 35% indicating they’ve made between four and six such purchases.
Consumers actively engage with influencer content, with 52% watching content that appears in their social feeds and 33% deliberately seeking out influencer content to learn more about products or topics.
However, despite this engagement, a trust deficit exists. While 87% of consumers express trust in advertising generally (with 5.5% trusting completely and 83.2% somewhat), only 74% trust influencer content (5% completely, 69% somewhat). This represents a 13 percentage point gap between trust in traditional advertising versus influencer marketing.
The research reveals 26% of consumers do not trust influencers at all, more than double the 11.3% who distrust advertising generally.
Transparency and Honesty
The primary drivers of consumer trust in influencers, according to the research, center on transparency. A total of 71% of consumers cite “transparency and honesty about brand association” as critical for establishing trust, while 79% value “honest reviews, even if not positive about the product/service they are reviewing.”
Conversely, the research pinpoints the main factors undermining trust. Eighty percent of consumers lose trust when “influencers are not genuine, honest or transparent,” while 71% respond negatively when influencers “promote unrealistic lifestyle/body image.” Failure to disclose brand relationships drives distrust for 64% of respondents.
The consequences of non-disclosure are significant, with 70% of consumers reporting negative feelings upon discovering undisclosed paid promotions. Of these, 37% feel “deceived” and 33% develop generally negative attitudes toward the influencer.
Recent Lawsuits Highlight Disclosure Risks
These trust issues are increasingly moving from consumer perception to legal liability. In May, athleisure brand ALO Yoga and several social media influencers became targets of a $150 million class action lawsuit in federal court in Illinois for allegedly failing to disclose paid partnerships in Instagram promotions. According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly avoided using official ad disclosures to prevent Instagram’s algorithms from reducing the reach of their content.
Similarly, fashion retailer Revolve Group faces a nationwide class action lawsuit filed in April seeking damages exceeding $50 million for allegedly deceptive marketing practices. The complaint alleges that Revolve compensated influencers with cash, luxury trips, and free products without providing the proper disclosures required by FTC guidelines.
The Revolve lawsuit alleges that influencers failed to use required disclosures, such as “#ad” or Instagram’s “paid partnership” label, leading consumers to believe that endorsements were unpaid and authentic. The plaintiff claims that this practice artificially inflated the perceived value of Revolve items, allowing them to command prices 10% to 40% higher than those of competitors.
Disclosure Requirements Not Improving Trust
Interestingly, the research suggests that disclosure requirements alone may not be sufficient to enhance trust. While a lack of disclosure damages trust, the presence of standard disclosures doesn’t necessarily improve it. Fifty-seven percent of respondents indicated that adding “#ad” or “#sponsored” tags does not make influencers more trustworthy.
Similarly, 70% of consumers report that an influencer’s brand partnership itself doesn’t inherently make them less trustworthy, suggesting it’s the handling of the relationship, not its existence, that matters to audiences.
Demographics and Platform Usage
The research captures demographic insights on trust levels, with consumers aged 25-34 (40%) and those 65 and older (37%) expressing the greatest skepticism toward advertising.
Platform usage among survey respondents reveals that Facebook remains the most dominant platform (86%), followed by Instagram (75%), YouTube (68%), Pinterest (48%), TikTok (45%), Reddit (30%), and LinkedIn (29%). Only 2.4% of respondents report not using social media daily.
Shared Responsibility for Truthful Advertising
When asked who bears responsibility for ensuring truthful and transparent advertising, 72% of consumers believe it falls on both brands and influencers equally. This suggests that while consumers expect integrity from content creators, they also hold companies accountable for the influencer partnerships they establish.
The survey methodology included responses from 3,720 U.S. consumers aged 18-65, gathered over three days in February 2025. Respondents included 235 men, 5 non-binary individuals, and 3,484 women.
Increased Regulatory Attention
The report notes influencer marketing faces “serious challenges,” including “questionable practices” attributed partly to “limited regulation.” It highlights that influencer advertisements “often fail to follow the law set out by the FTC’s Endorsement Guides.”
BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) reports a “sharp increase in cases involving influencer marketing,” which it interprets as signaling “an urgent need for influencers to understand and adhere to the guidelines that promote honest and transparent advertising practices.”
The report describes trust as “the cornerstone of authenticity” and suggests that when influencers approach brand relationships with transparency, they “not only build consumer confidence but also boost brand loyalty and overall engagement,” potentially strengthening “the integrity of the entire influencer marketing ecosystem.”
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
Influencer marketing continues to grow, but American consumers remain more skeptical of content creators than traditional advertising, according to new research from BBB National Programs.
The “2025 Influencer Trust Index” indicates 82.7% of U.S. marketers now leverage influencer partnerships in creative campaigns. Consumer behavior validates this investment, with 58% of survey respondents reporting they have made purchases based on influencer endorsements, and 35% indicating they’ve made between four and six such purchases.
Consumers actively engage with influencer content, with 52% watching content that appears in their social feeds and 33% deliberately seeking out influencer content to learn more about products or topics.
However, despite this engagement, a trust deficit exists. While 87% of consumers express trust in advertising generally (with 5.5% trusting completely and 83.2% somewhat), only 74% trust influencer content (5% completely, 69% somewhat). This represents a 13 percentage point gap between trust in traditional advertising versus influencer marketing.
The research reveals 26% of consumers do not trust influencers at all, more than double the 11.3% who distrust advertising generally.
Transparency and Honesty
The primary drivers of consumer trust in influencers, according to the research, center on transparency. A total of 71% of consumers cite “transparency and honesty about brand association” as critical for establishing trust, while 79% value “honest reviews, even if not positive about the product/service they are reviewing.”
Conversely, the research pinpoints the main factors undermining trust. Eighty percent of consumers lose trust when “influencers are not genuine, honest or transparent,” while 71% respond negatively when influencers “promote unrealistic lifestyle/body image.” Failure to disclose brand relationships drives distrust for 64% of respondents.
The consequences of non-disclosure are significant, with 70% of consumers reporting negative feelings upon discovering undisclosed paid promotions. Of these, 37% feel “deceived” and 33% develop generally negative attitudes toward the influencer.
Recent Lawsuits Highlight Disclosure Risks
These trust issues are increasingly moving from consumer perception to legal liability. In May, athleisure brand ALO Yoga and several social media influencers became targets of a $150 million class action lawsuit in federal court in Illinois for allegedly failing to disclose paid partnerships in Instagram promotions. According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly avoided using official ad disclosures to prevent Instagram’s algorithms from reducing the reach of their content.
Similarly, fashion retailer Revolve Group faces a nationwide class action lawsuit filed in April seeking damages exceeding $50 million for allegedly deceptive marketing practices. The complaint alleges that Revolve compensated influencers with cash, luxury trips, and free products without providing the proper disclosures required by FTC guidelines.
The Revolve lawsuit alleges that influencers failed to use required disclosures, such as “#ad” or Instagram’s “paid partnership” label, leading consumers to believe that endorsements were unpaid and authentic. The plaintiff claims that this practice artificially inflated the perceived value of Revolve items, allowing them to command prices 10% to 40% higher than those of competitors.
Disclosure Requirements Not Improving Trust
Interestingly, the research suggests that disclosure requirements alone may not be sufficient to enhance trust. While a lack of disclosure damages trust, the presence of standard disclosures doesn’t necessarily improve it. Fifty-seven percent of respondents indicated that adding “#ad” or “#sponsored” tags does not make influencers more trustworthy.
Similarly, 70% of consumers report that an influencer’s brand partnership itself doesn’t inherently make them less trustworthy, suggesting it’s the handling of the relationship, not its existence, that matters to audiences.
Demographics and Platform Usage
The research captures demographic insights on trust levels, with consumers aged 25-34 (40%) and those 65 and older (37%) expressing the greatest skepticism toward advertising.
Platform usage among survey respondents reveals that Facebook remains the most dominant platform (86%), followed by Instagram (75%), YouTube (68%), Pinterest (48%), TikTok (45%), Reddit (30%), and LinkedIn (29%). Only 2.4% of respondents report not using social media daily.
Shared Responsibility for Truthful Advertising
When asked who bears responsibility for ensuring truthful and transparent advertising, 72% of consumers believe it falls on both brands and influencers equally. This suggests that while consumers expect integrity from content creators, they also hold companies accountable for the influencer partnerships they establish.
The survey methodology included responses from 3,720 U.S. consumers aged 18-65, gathered over three days in February 2025. Respondents included 235 men, 5 non-binary individuals, and 3,484 women.
Increased Regulatory Attention
The report notes influencer marketing faces “serious challenges,” including “questionable practices” attributed partly to “limited regulation.” It highlights that influencer advertisements “often fail to follow the law set out by the FTC’s Endorsement Guides.”
BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) reports a “sharp increase in cases involving influencer marketing,” which it interprets as signaling “an urgent need for influencers to understand and adhere to the guidelines that promote honest and transparent advertising practices.”
The report describes trust as “the cornerstone of authenticity” and suggests that when influencers approach brand relationships with transparency, they “not only build consumer confidence but also boost brand loyalty and overall engagement,” potentially strengthening “the integrity of the entire influencer marketing ecosystem.”
For the full report, click here.
All images are credited to BBB National Programs.