After cake advertising scandal Court acquits Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni
Chiara Ferragni was facing almost two years in prison for allegedly misleading product advertising. Now the influencer has been acquitted.
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- Chiara Ferragni was acquitted of the charge of misleading advertising in Milan and faced almost two years in prison.
- She had advertised products whose packaging falsely gave the impression that donations would benefit social institutions.
- The scandal led to a loss of reputation, a fine - and a legal reform to strengthen the regulation of influencers in Italy.
Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni was acquitted by an Italian court in Milan on Wednesday. She was facing almost two years in prison for misleading advertising campaigns. "The nightmare is over. We are all touched, I thank my followers," she told the media after the verdict was announced.
In 2022, Ferragni had sold traditional Italian Christmas cakes - known as pandoro - in cooperation with the baked goods manufacturer Balocco. A sticker on the boxes stated that Ferragni and Balocco supported the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin.
In December 2023, the Italian competition authority sanctioned Ferragni for unfair business practices. Ferragni had misled the public: The messages on the cake would give the impression that every cake purchase would benefit the hospital. But this was not the case.
"Pandorogate" cost the influencer countless followers and her reputation. She later apologized for this in a video: she had made a "communication error" and would donate one million euros to the hospital, she said.
The "Ferragni law" wants to monitor influencers more closely
The scandal also led to the Italian parliament passing a law reform that aims to monitor influencers more closely and is known as the "Ferragni Law".
In 2021 and 2022, Ferragni is also alleged to have sold Easter eggs with the confectionery producer Dolci Preziosi, the packaging of which could mislead buyers into mistakenly believing that they were supporting a children's charity.
The trial against the 38-year-old began this September. Ferragni has always denied the allegations and said that she did not commit a crime but acted "in good faith". The case against Ferragni, her ex-manager and an entrepreneur has now been dropped. The acquittal will be explained later.
