Journalist targeted by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. They will check whether the calls were sponsored
Chróstny, who was Natalia Szewczak's guest in the “Onet Rano. Finansowo” program, was asked about UOKiK's inspections of influencers and internet creators.
— (In this regard) we have achieved a lot. September 2022: we issued guidelines that we developed together with agencies, advertisers and media agencies, but also with the influence of social media participants themselves – precisely to make these mechanisms transparent. We are not against marketing and influencers. We want everyone who deals with paid content to be well informed about it.
He emphasized that this is a source of activity and guidelines of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. — That is why we continue to promote these guidelines and educational campaigns, but also hence the actions against those who violate this type of transparency mechanisms. Because also in social media, everyone who follows a given content must clearly know whether someone paid for it and whether it is subjective or objective, he explained.
Read also: The journalist revealed the rates for the interviews. “I started earning money three years ago”
The journalist has not yet provided an explanation. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is waiting
Chróstny admitted that the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection also controls podcasters and their podcasts that are not marked as advertisements. – We have entered this area very strongly, hence the demand for explanations, at least from the Journalist – he said.
He said that the office is counting on precise information from Swakowski – but he has not yet provided it. — We expect very extensive information to find out which specific recordings may have been paid for and how they were properly marked.
The president of the office informed in the program that if Żurnalist is found to have broken the law, he will be subject to a fine of up to 10%. financial turnover.
How much does a conversation with a Journalist cost?
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection took action against the controversial podcaster for a reason. Information about the commercial nature of some of the conversations published by Journalist appeared several years ago. In 2022, journalist Jakub Wątor described that it was possible to buy a sponsored interview in a podcast hosted by Swakowski. He referred to Kinga Szostko, an expert in the protection of minors on the Internet, who was supposedly familiar with the creator's price list in force at that time – a few years ago, the cost of participating in a podcast was supposed to be around PLN 20,000. zloty.
The journalist addressed the allegations regarding paid calls in March this year. This spring, the podcaster himself confirmed that some of the conversations were commercial in nature. As he explained, this applies primarily to guests promoting books, films or TV series, as well as less recognizable people who want to tell their own story. At the same time, he assured that advertising cooperation does not affect the course of conversations or the way guests are presented, and the podcast is not intended to improve someone's image.
