Be careful when buying products based on recommendations from celebrities.

People visit and shop at a fair in Lam Son Square, Thanh Hoa City. (Illustration photo).

Nguyen Thi Thanh Tra (25 years old), is currently a teacher at a primary school in Thanh Hoa city. Being a modern young person, Tra often shops online, watches online sales livestreams and many times buys products based on reviews of famous people on social networks. Talking about her own experience, Tra said: “Nowadays, social networks are very smart. Just having the intention to buy something, surfing Facebook will see advertisements for related products appear. One time, I was looking to buy a pair of shampoo - conditioner to prevent hair loss and immediately came across an advertisement clip of a famous person. Seeing that the advertisement was exactly the product I needed, the words were easy to hear and convincing, so I ordered it right away without thinking much. However, I spent nearly 500 thousand VND for a pair of shampoos, but when I tried it, it was not as advertised at all!”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao (37 years old, in Nghi Son town) also had a "half-crying, half-laughing" moment when she believed in the advertisement of a famous person about a weight loss product. Ms. Thao recalled that a few years ago, while surfing tiktok, she saw many clips advertising weight loss foods, the people appearing in the advertisement were famous people, so she trusted and ordered them to use. Unexpectedly, after only drinking 3-4 packs, she felt dizzy, nauseous and tired. Suspecting that the product had a "problem", Ms. Thao had to stop using the product because she was worried about its effects on her health. "It's better to consider it a waste of a few hundred thousand dong than to continue using it and affect my health," Ms. Thao shared.

E-commerce platforms are developing, celebrities, artists, social media influencers (such as: tiktoker, youtuber, KOC, KOL) advertise products on personal pages, livestream sales... becoming popular stories on social media platforms. Many celebrities have become advertising faces for countless products, from cosmetics, fashion, functional foods... Notably, recently, some celebrities have advertised health-related products with "exaggerated" effects. This information immediately met with public backlash.

The Kera vegetable candy case involving a number of celebrities such as Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien (a beauty queen sought after by the media), Hang Du Muc (a tiktoker known as the "livestream warrior"), Quang Linh Vlogs (a youtuber with a simple, rustic image)... is a topic of interest to many people. From the Kera vegetable candy advertisement "one pill can replace a plate of vegetables", "the product can replace green vegetables in meals", a consumer brought the candy for testing and the results showed that the fiber content in the product was much lower than advertised. After 4 months since its launch, Kera vegetable candy became the focus of the incident, attracting special public attention, leading to a series of handling measures from the authorities. In early April 2025, the Investigation Police Agency, Ministry of Public Security determined that the Kera vegetable candy product (full name is Kera SuperGreens Gummies dietary supplement) is "counterfeit". The Investigation Police Agency decided to prosecute the criminal case of "Production of counterfeit food products and deceiving customers", prosecute the accused, and apply temporary detention measures against two famous people, Nguyen Thi Thai Hang (Hang Du Muc) and Pham Quang Linh (Quang Linh Vlogs) and 3 accomplices.

The strict and timely handling by the authorities of the incident related to the Kera vegetable candy product has become a warning lesson for many celebrities when participating in product advertising on social networking platforms. And, given the current widespread advertising situation, to avoid being deceived, experts recommend that consumers be cautious with advertising information on social networks, especially products related to health, and not believe in advertising that "deifies" the product. It is necessary to carefully research product information, origin and quality certifications, only buy products from reputable sources, products with full labels; do not completely trust the advertising of celebrities to avoid "losing money and getting sick".

Article 34 of Decree No. 38/2021/ND-CP dated March 29, 2021 stipulates administrative sanctions for violations in the field of culture and advertising: Fines from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for advertisements using the words "first", "only", "best", "number one" or words with similar meanings without legal documents proving as prescribed. Fines from VND 60,000,000 to VND 80,000,000 for acts of advertising that are incorrect or cause confusion about the business capacity, the ability to provide products, goods and services of organizations and individuals trading in products, goods and services; on quantity, quality, price, uses, designs, packaging, trademarks, origins, types, service methods, warranty periods of products, goods and services that have been registered or announced, except for the cases specified in Clause 4, Article 51, Point b, Clause 4, Article 52, Clause 1, Article 60, Point c, Clause 1, Article 61 of this Decree...

Minh Hien

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/can-trong-khi-mua-hang-theo-loi-gioi-thieu-tu-nguoi-noi-tieng-245916.htm