Nearly 90 percent of posts from financial influencers on social media show more negative than positive traits, according to a study by Queen Mary University of London. The research analyzed nearly 2,500 finfluencers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube and uncovered a stark reality behind much of the crypto and finance content online.
Only between 8 and 9 percent of posts revealed any real financial expertise from their creators. Disclaimers were even rarer appearing in just 12 to 13 percent of content. Despite this, two in five adults in the UK say they turn to social media for financial advice, while only one in ten consult a professional licensed adviser.
Those acting on such advice often rely on weak verification methods like reading comments, rather than fact-checking credentials or comparing claims with trusted sources. The crypto sector mirrors this issue. Chainalysis flagged over 74,000 tokens launched in 2024 as potential pump-and-dump schemes, a scam where promoters artificially inflate a token’s value before dumping it. Most schemes lasted just a few days or were dumped immediately, revealing little legitimacy.
Regulators are catching up. An operation led by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority recently targeted 120 finfluencer accounts responsible for over 1,200 illegal financial ads seen by more than 2.3 million UK internet users. Two-thirds of those ads originated from entities already blacklisted by the FCA.
This situation highlights the risks social media users face when trusting unverified financial advice and shows the urgent need for stronger oversight in the booming crypto space.
This content is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.
