Audiences Don't Trust Creators to Disclose Brand Deals, Survey Finds

A Morning Consult survey conducted exclusively for Business Insider found 69% of U.S. adults say creators should disclose paid promotions, but only one in four think influencers do so consistently. The September poll of 2,003 adults also showed a sharp age gap on disclosure trust.

Nov 06, 2026 - 13:18

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U.S. audiences largely want creators to flag paid promotions, but few believe influencers do so consistently, according to a Morning Consult survey conducted exclusively for Business Insider. Lucia Moses reported for Business Insider on Nov. 6, 2026, that 69% of U.S. adults think creators should disclose paid promotions, while only one in four think influencers actually disclose those deals consistently. Morning Consult said the poll was fielded Sept. 23–24, 2026, among a nationally representative sample of 2,003 U.S. adults.

Disclosure expectations outpace perceived compliance

Business Insider described a trust gap between creators and their audiences around brand deals. Emily Steele, CEO of Hummingbirds, a marketing platform that connects creators with retailers, told the outlet she attributes distrust in part to creators who chase quick payouts. "There are creators who only post UGC or sponsored content without any cohesion around what they're posting about and why," Steele said, according to Business Insider. "Why would I, as a follower, trust you when I feel like all you post is a paid brand deal?"

Creators report disclosing more often than audiences appear to believe. A recent SheSpeaks survey cited by Business Insider found that 14% of creators said they did not always disclose brand ties, while 18% said a brand had explicitly requested that they not disclose a partnership in the past year. In a September 2026 Business Insider report by Lucia Moses and Lara O'Reilly on the same SheSpeaks study of 365 creators, 84% said they always or almost always disclosed brand partnerships, down from 95% in a comparable 2016 survey, while situational disclosure rose to 14% from 2%. The Federal Trade Commission says influencers should make paid relationships "clearly and conspicuously" understandable with simple language such as "ad," "sponsored" or "advertisement," Business Insider reported.

Advertisers are projected to spend $44 billion with creators in the United States this year, more than tripling in five years, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau as cited by Business Insider. The outlet said retaining audience trust is central as creator marketing becomes a larger ad channel.

Older adults more skeptical of disclosure

Age cohorts broadly agree that paid posts should be labeled, but older respondents are more likely to believe creators fall short, Business Insider reported. Fifty-three percent of baby boomers said influencers rarely or never clearly disclose paid deals, compared with 21% of Gen Z. Morning Consult's company summary of the exclusive survey said Gen Z and millennials trust creator recommendations at 62% and 64%, respectively; buy based on creators often or sometimes at 48% and 52%; and get news from creators at 64% and 61%. Among boomers, only 31% trust recommendations, 43% said they never bought based on one, and the group was net-negative on creators' societal impact (31% negative versus 17% positive), Morning Consult reported. The firm also said adults earning $100,000 or more lean into influencers on measures including trust and purchase frequency.

Leila Marsh, chief talent officer of The Drive Agency, told Business Insider that older audiences grew up with celebrity endorsements whose financial relationships were clear, whereas many creator partnerships appear on mobile screens with small or unfamiliar disclosure language. "They may fly under the radar until someone scrolls and sees 'hashtag partner,'" Marsh said of the disclosures, according to the outlet.

Sponsorship labels cut trust; honesty can rebuild it

Finding out that content is sponsored makes people across age and income groups trust it less, Business Insider reported from the Morning Consult findings. The survey found respondents were most likely to trust a sponsored post's authenticity when the creator said what they liked or disliked, appeared to use the product themselves, and explained why they chose the brand. Colin Rocker, a careers-focused creator, told Business Insider that promoting a brand's message while staying true to his voice is a balancing act given audience suspicion. "Most people that don't create content have a base level of distrust today against content creators that we're always up against," Rocker said, according to the report.

Morning Consult said food and beverage, beauty, and fashion lead creator-driven purchase categories, while 50% of buyers regret at least one creator-driven purchase, with regret highest among Gen Z and households earning $100,000 or more. Jennifer Santos, programs director of the Institute for Responsible Influence, part of the Center for Industry Self-Regulation, told Business Insider that concealment is what most damages trust. The institute's 2025 survey found seven in 10 consumers would feel deceived or negatively toward a creator who did not disclose a brand deal, the outlet reported. "Audiences respond to honesty, and they're quick to punish anything that feels hidden," Santos said. She added that creators who consistently follow disclosure rules "will be the partners brands want and that audiences trust," according to Business Insider.