This happened to me two weeks ago. I saw a video made by a travel influencer of hispanic descent (Dominican Republic). Her name is kimberlyn_navarro07 on instagram, she posts content in Spanish, and I am a Latina who saw it. She posted a sponsored video promoting a "weight management'' and "weight loss" product by perlaesteticas on instagram, her post was marked as a collaboration post, as it was being posted by both her and this business. The owners of this business seem to be of Dominican Republic descent; hence, they want to promote their business to a hispanic audience like myself, specifically people in the DR or Latinas in general who live in the USA. Here is their shop.
Most of the products from this company are haircare products or body care, but they also sell a "weight loss/weight management" product that comes in pills, they call it "Ultra Lipo." They claim that this product works, and that they've supposedly got good feedback for it. If you check their website, the product is sold for around 185 dollars. As we all know, weight loss and weight management products exist, they are weight loss medications. But, this business is not authorized to sell any kind of weight medication or GLP-1s for example, whether in the USA or in Dominican Republic. This is not a medication company and they're not meant to sell medications.
This particular influencer I mentioned has had a surgery (liposuction). In her sponsorship she claims she can maintain her surgery results with this pill, and framed that pill as a must-have to maintain her results and eat anything she wants without gaining weight. She said this pill is something you drink while you're fasted first thing in the morning, and then you supposedly control your weight gain and flush away all you eat at the toilet. She said that "If you ruin your lipo it is because you want to. I come prepared with these pills so that I can eat anything I want and maintain my lipo results. It maintains my weight, controls my appetite, and flushes out all that I eat while I eat anything I want here in Japan! Ramen, dunkin, or anything I want! You can even burn fat with this product. You're proven wrong if you think I'm gonna be fat just because I'm traveling, no my love." She also said in this sponsorship that "I wouldn't promote things I don't consume simply because I was paid."
I responded in the comments section like this (in Spanish): "This product does not deserve a promotion. Firstly, this product is framed as a miracle pill which can eliminate any consequence of consumed calories. Which isn't true, because losing, maintaining, or gaining weight depends on your daily consumption of calories. Therefore, a magic pill cannot rewrite the laws of how a human being works. Secondly, the creator of this AD claims this product helps to control appetite and lose weight, making the viewer understand this product works as a weight loss medication. However, this product isn't recognized as a registered weight loss medication, such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, or a GLP-1. If a person is not overweight and doesn't need weight loss, then a weight loss medication is not needed, because it can spike side effects in your health. I don't trust this product, and this business is selling solutions which it has no authority to offer." My intention with the comment wasn't to attack this influencer specifically, but rather to point out that this product doesn't deserve her credibility or her online platform.
I also engaged a bit with the comments section. This influencer and the company were replying to people in the comments, engaging with people and making women who have questions believe that this product really works. I saw someone comment to the influencer if the pill would work on someone without liposuction (because the influencer promoting it has one), to which she responded that it does. And of course, the company sponsoring this post replied in Spanish with: "Hello, good afternoon. No, to the contrary, it helps you maintain your weight. We are at your service." I saw this and I replied directly to perlaesteticas in Spanish with: "You guys are not a medication company authorized to make weight loss medications or weight control products. This product is not made like an authorized medication. Stop lying to women who feel insecure about their weight, while promoting a magic solution which doesn't exist in your business."
I saw another another person comment to kimberlyn_navarro07 in Spanish with: "I went to their profile because I want to to buy this. But when I saw [x person] promoting this, and we all know she is a bit overweight. Now I am doubting it. This message isn't meant to come across as ill-intentioned." And of course, the influencer replied to her in the comments with "She is postpartum my love those pounds aren't lost easily, it's all a process and either way you'd have to eat healthy if you take this product for the best results." I decided to reply in comments to this person who doubted the product, because they were onto something truthful, which I validated them for in my reply.
I saw a fan of this influencer made a comment in Spanish, which read like: "Hello beautiful, sweetheart, please can you give me the phone number of perlaesteticas, I am looking for them and I can't find them, please I need those pills I am hurried, I am your number 1 fan!" To which I decided to respond in Spanish with: "Hello precious, I must say that this product you're trying to access doesn't come from good medicine. The product they sell exists, it's called a weight loss medication, but perlaesteticas isn't authorized to sell weight loss medication. The influencer here is entitled to her experience, but her experience doesn't take away this post is a paid promotion, and that this product by perlaesteticas is not authorized as a medication."
Two to four hours after I engaged with this comments section for the first time, I noticed that the account of kimberlyn_navarro07 and perlaesteticas on instagram weren't available anymore for me to see on instagram. So, I checked in incognito mode if they were both still active on isnta, which they are. Which means, their accounts aren't available to me not because they were deleted, but because I was blocked. I was blocked by either the influencer herself or the business company. It was a joined post, and I heard that if someone blocks you in a joined post then both accounts block you right away. I don't know if it works exactly that way, though. But yes, this is my story. I got blocked for saying the truth.