TikTok Videos About Crypto Investments Highly Misleading, Survey Finds
Research has revealed that 30% of TikTok videos on crypto investments share wrong messages. The videos feature crypto-related hashtags such as investing, trading, and advice.
The researchers also discovered that TikTok influencers promoting Bitcoin and digital asset investments had logged billions of views on their videos cumulatively.
Crypto influencers on TikTok post misleading information
TikTok is a popular video-based platform where many people search for information next to Google. But dappGambl researchers have discovered that many digital influencers post misleading information about digital investments on TikTok.
dappGamble analyzed more than 1,161 TikTok videos and discovered that one in ten warned viewers about the risks of crypto investments. The rest failed to add disclaimers about the risk. The researchers also found that 47% of content creators only focus on making money through the services they send to viewers.
Furthermore, dappGambl researchers also discovered that one in three deceptive TikTok videos focused on Bitcoin. All the videos with crypto-related hashtags have registered over 6 billion views on the platform.
These influencers aim to convince uninformed and unsuspecting viewers to spend money on crypto assets even if they lose their money.
In particular, most viewers of Tiktok videos are the younger generation, not well equipped to decipher malicious intent. As such, these influencers will easily trick them and sometimes their parents with questionable returns on crypto investments.
Crypto influencers pose financial risk to investors
One of the dangers of sharing unmonitored or misleading information with billions of viewers is that they will believe what the influencers say, given their trust in them. This was one reason why regulators mandated influencers inform about the payments they receive to market products or services.
However, some mainstream influencers failed to follow suit, pushing unsuspecting investors into massive losses. For example, influencers such as Soulja Boy, Kim Kardashian and Jake Paul met with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to promote crypto projects.
Kim Kardashian was sued for promoting EthereumMax (EMAX) and paid $1.26 million in fines. Soulja Boy and others were sued for promoting SafeMoon, a BNB Chain native token that became a Ponzi scheme.
Another recent case was a $1 billion lawsuit against Binance, its CEO Changpeng Zhao and three cryptocurrency influencers for allegedly promoting unregistered securities. The filing revealed that millions of investors could be eligible for damages from their actions.
While TikTok influencers may not have a wider reach with their content, they still pose financial risk to investors on the platform.
Unfortunately, most users of TikTok and other video sharing platforms usually rely on the number of views and likes on a video to judge it as authentic. As such, top influencers easily convince them to invest in any product.
But given their findings, the researchers now advise new and veteran investors to research any investment opportunity thoroughly before committing funds.
Featured image from Pixabay and chart from Tradingview
