D-list celebs who promote shit on Instagram without pointing out they're being paid. Somehow, I'm supposed to view this as markedly worse than Tom Brady, Larry David, etc. doing the same thing in a commercial.

Why would you not see them as markedly different?

Commercials don't require disclosure because everyone knows they're a commercial. The same is not true for influencers' Instagram posts. Sometimes the scripting is ham-handed enough to be obvious, but hardly always.

The outcome is the same, people buying something they may not have otherwise. Also, the fact that viewers know something is an ad doesn't change the fact that they view it as a celebrity endorsement.

> The outcome is the same, people buying something they may not have otherwise.

The outcome is the same between murder and a self-defense homicide, too.

> Also, the fact that viewers know something is an ad doesn't change the fact that they view it as a celebrity endorsement.

That's on them, though. They have the information, it's up to them to act on it.

> Six of the celebrities — excluding Soulja Boy (whose legal name is DeAndre Cortez Way) and Mahone — have agreed to pay a total of more than $400,000 to settle the charges without admitting or denying the SEC's findings

$400k isn't nearly enough to deter anyone in the future. That's a month's income for some of them.

If you could make $1M and pay just a month of your income if caught as fine, would you do it?