Instagram Star Calls Out Company for Faking Photos

A social media star is scolding a detox tea company for allegedly airbrushing its products into her photos.

YouTube celebrity and Instagram personality Pia Muehlenbeck says SkinnyMint Teatox doctored her personal photos to include its products and then reposted them without her permission or knowledge. “Honestly, I laughed when I found out — sometimes you just have to, right?” Muehlenbeck tells Yahoo Beauty, adding that her followers alerted her to the images.

On Monday Muehlenbeck tweeted a series of photos to her audience of 20,000: In one, the 26-year-old is lounging in bed with a cup of 28 Day Teatox; in two more she wears a bikini — both with and without another SkinnyMint product.

Muehlenbeck also tweeted, “I want to call them out on my Instagram stories but don’t want to give them the publicity.” She added: “Unfortunately, they would probably actually get more sales if I made this IP theft more public.” Muehlenbeck also commented on what a poor business choice this was:

It’s not unusual for companies to partner with social media stars. These business deals often dictate that people with large social media audiences and/or a deep and emotional connection to their followers agree to promote a brand in exchange for hefty fees. For example, the Kardashian family hawks everything from vitamins and waist trainers to morning sickness medication and skin care lines. And lesser-known personalities have also made fortunes from companies that recognize their ability to influence audiences. By law these partnerships must be transparent, with each post bearing #sponsored or #ad hashtags.

Unfortunately, it’s troublingly common for companies to use a person’s intellectual property without their consent, according to Bradley Shear, a Maryland-based lawyer who specializes in social media law. “When you post content on social media, you agree to forfeit some of your rights to it, per the company’s terms of service — but that doesn’t mean a third party can come along and repurpose that content.”

As a result, Shear says, SkinnyMint could be forced to remove the images or pay monetary damages, depending on whether the posts have caused damage to Muehlenbeck’s brand.

Yahoo Beauty could not reach SkinnyMint for comment; however, Muehlenbeck says the Singapore-based company has removed her photos from its social media channels. “For many influencers, social media advertising is their only means of income,” she tells Yahoo Beauty. “Hopefully all this [attention] will deter brands from doing the same thing in the future.”

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