Recently, influencers/reality stars have been paid £10,000 plus, to endorse NHS Track and Trace, using taxpayers money. Is this a great initiative, or the start of a downward spiral?
This topic caught my attention, as the whole concept of the NHS paying influencers money to promote a life saving scheme, seemed to feel a little uncomfortable to me.
Influencers are people on social media who advertise brands and in return, receive a pay check. It’s their job. And the amount they can get paid per ‘advert’ can vary, due to the amount of followers you have, engagement etc.
The influencers that the NHS targeted, are reality stars, primarily from the UK tv show, ‘Love Island’. These are Shaughna Phillips, Chris Hughes and Josh Denzel among the chosen few. These individuals have over 1 million followers each, collectively the NHS advertised to an audience of 7 million people, due to them using their social media followers.
This struck a nerve with me, as many view the NHS almost like a charity. They’re publicly funded out of general taxation, so effectively, everyone helps fund the National Health Service, when they pay tax to the government.
Now, we understand how like anyone else being an influencer is a job. That’s how they earn money to live. But, I’m almost certain that each and everyone of the selected few who were chosen to endorsed the Track and Trace service, have needed NHS assistance at least once in their life. And probably continue to use the National Health Service. In the UK, the majority of people use NHS services, as there are no exceptions in terms of income.
So is there a charge for humanity nowadays? I don’t understand how you can physically accept money in return for advertising a service to save lives? There should be quite a clear line in your heart and moral compass, what should be a paid advert and what shouldn’t. And charging your ‘fee’ in a pandemic, to get a message out there for certain age groups, is not right. If you have a conscious of course…
What makes this situation even worse, is that these same influencers the government paid to advertise a life saving scheme, subsequently posted straight after the ad, pictures of them with their friends, either hugging or showing no social distancing rules at all. No masks or anything. And even joking about social distancing rules, showing a complete disregard for the government, after they’ve been paid to advertise…
If there’s ever a time for double standards, it’s now. The fact that these specific influencers just posted an ad for NHS, then went back to their every day life which consists of zero interest – concerning social distancing rules, is quite disturbing.
The government should not have paid them to advertise. These chosen people should have done it from the kindness of their heart as we get that it’s your job, but the NHS Track and Trace scheme is nowhere remotely similar to advertising a bikini, or slimming teas.
What’s the world come to? Is this where humanity is leading to? A paid ad to save a life? In a pandemic? What are your thoughts? Comment below!
I entirely agree with you. It smacks of desperation, but nothing this government does surprises me any more. Thanks for alerting me to this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Completely!
I agree with you, I wonder what else the government could do that’d actually shock me. Actually, there’s still time!😂
Thankyouu and so glad you enjoyed reading this post!😃😊
LikeLike
This is a tough one, to pick sides will be tricky. One may easily argue that Healthcare workers get paid to save lives, so why won’t Influencers be paid to do the same. Yeah, I know one group sacrifices more than the other, to get the job done, but at the end of the day, they all have the right to request or turn down remuneration.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think paying influences to advertise such a life saving service is so distasteful, as nurses especially in the UK, are paid pittance. When they truly do work long hours and help save lives. Influencers are probably paid almost the same to ‘advertise’ for the NHS, than a nurses annual salary!
They didn’t even have to take anytime out of their day to ‘advertise’. Each influencer just uploaded a random irrelevant image, along with a caption they copied and pasted. I’d more understand if they had to spend their time doing a certain advert – time is money after all. But I imagine it would’ve taken under a minute to upload any random image.
I understand that people may argue the fact, but I think morally nowadays, many lines are blurred. And many things are just for financial gain. Even if you have the chance to save many lives, or even one, it’s the “What’s in it for me?” mentality.
Thankyouu so much Ngozi, for reading and sharing such a compelling insight!😃😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
It was an interesting and informative read, Antonia. 😀 You’re welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤗🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are so correct in all of the objections raised in this posting. This is an effort to use herd mentality in such a corrupt manner.
I want to call your attention to Dr. Malcolm Kendrick posting addressing all the misinformation and corrupt actions to lead into paths that are destructive to our wellbeing: https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/08/25/covid-what-have-we-learned/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thankyouu so much! Going to read the post via the link you sent, now!!
Thankyouu in advance!😃😊
LikeLike
I guess influencers are a whole new category of celebrities. Before Influencers came about, celebrities already had a way of making a living – acting, modeling, performing – and their “influence” could be used to push forward their beliefs without financial benefit. Influencers have only reached celebrity status by acting like celebrities, so they may not have another source of income. As such, I think a government should reach out to a “real” celebrity, whose influence doesn’t require a payment, rather than paying for what amounts to advertising.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, entirely.
And I understand that it may be that certain influencers rely on each and every pay-check to get by. But the worrying issue is that the government reached out to these Love island stars who have a net worth of around 1 million pounds each already. If not, they 100% have over half a million in the bank. So this advert really wasn’t a necessity for their everyday bills etc, it’s just simply greed.
Thankyouu so much for sharing your insight!😃😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
It makes me feel a tiny bit better knowing the US government isn’t the only one completely screwing up handling the virus. How did we end up with these leaders?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha! A corrupt voting system perhaps?🤔🧐😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
would really love to connect with you!
LikeLike