On the (a)morals of promoting plasma requests for a fee

The turns a growing industry takes has consequences, sometimes unknowable, sometimes life-saving and sometimes horrific. That doesn’t mean we get to play judge, jury and executioner. Because from mistakes, we grow.

I’ve been thinking about the power that comes from being an influencer a lot, and its repercussions. There’s a massive shift afoot on who holds power and creators lead the way. If you’re not in agreement, look no further than how they built a safety net for people during the second wave. 

Whether a creator had 1.6M followers or 7k, the SOS calls they shared furnished results. They put people in touch with necessary COVID resources. In the process, building a new avatar of social media and empowering a mass movement.

It may not have saved every last soul but helped plenty. So, the news that creators represented by one influencer agency were charging a fee to amplify plasma requests struck like a thunderbolt.

The ethical dilemma

The nuts and bolts of it were: the agency created a plasma portal. For a price, a brand could partner with the agency and integrate the portal on their sites. Part of the fee was then used to pay influencers to promote the portal and any requests it received from people looking for plasma. 

On the surface, the move is shockingly offensive. How do you justify sponsored posts when so many others are doing it out of goodwill? How do you rationalise asking for money when lives are at stake?

Besides, what precedent does this set? It’s a slippery slope - if one agency, creator or brand can do it, so can another. Is that the ripple effect we want?

However, that’s not the whole story. It never is.

The grey area

First, let’s get it straight. 

The agency manages the creators. It’s the agency who would’ve asked for compensation, not the creators themselves. But that doesn’t absolve them from blame. A creator could have refused to do the sponsored posts. Would they have been able to do so without repercussions is a different matter. 

However, then comes the question of income. 

True content creators earn solely through brand collaboration. They don’t have day jobs to fall back on. Given that the pandemic made a huge dent in creator earning, most influencers have already burnt through their savings. So, asking for compensation when you’re facing insolvency can’t be deemed wrong. Can it?

Think about it. 

You’re a budding creator. Your solitary revenue stream has dried up because all marketing activity is on pause. In such a scenario, every penny you can eke counts. More so if you’re the breadwinner. 

Then there is the non-profit angle. 

The influencer agency claims that a portion of the fee was earmarked for doing good. It was donated to a non-profit matchmaking plasma donor with patients.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. 

And when it lies at the intersection of power and ethics, it becomes as clear as a foggy January morning. What I may consider as dishonourable, another may deem as ‘perfect business sense.’ 

That’s why you’ll get no judgement for me. 

I leave the question of right or wrong up to you. But I do want to emphasize this as a learning experience. In influencer marketing, the moral issue is tremendously complex because creators touch a massive volume of people. 

Being a transformative industry that has increased pathways of action, we’ve outstripped the ethical code that currently governs the marketing sector. We need better guidelines and a code of conduct. Something I’ve been advocating for since 2019 and will continue to so vehemently. 

The litmus test

As a social media user, I’ve learnt to put the creators I love to a litmus test. 

If they fail, I don’t publicly shame them for murky actions. I’m never in favour of it. The sheer force of social media and cancel culture messes with people in ways we can’t reverse. Ultimately, the punishment far exceeds the dodgy act.

What I do support is taking action.

If you feel a creator, or for that matter any user, is doing something immoral or dishonest, unfollow. Remove them from all your social feeds and stop supporting them. As a result, you won’t give them more oxygen than they deserve, reducing their influence.