Oil firms pay Insta, TikTok influencers for ads

Paris (AFP) — Oil companies are paying popular influencers to pump their gas on social media, sparking a backlash from some climate-conscious fans for promoting planet-warming fossil fuels among young people.

Young online celebrities best known for posting about video games, their dogs or their holidays to millions of followers are also dropping in unexpected plugs for gasoline stations, fuel rewards and club cards. AFP found cases of such spots in India, Mexico, South Africa and the United States that promoted major oil firms such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies.