Following a recent Daily Tele exposé, the Australian Federal Government has decided to put an indefinite halt to funding social media influencers.

High Court not amused

Following direct order from Minister for Health Greg Hunt, his department has enacted a review of government funding for social media personalities.

The exposé revealed that Department of Health spent over $600,000 on its #girlsmakeyourmove social media campaign which has been running for the past 18 months.

Some influencers have been paid as much as $3000 per post which has clocked up to as much as $718,100 for paid influencers. Which means the rest of us are in the wrong business.

Some influencers started putting a bad taste in the mouth of government paymasters when it was discovered they'd been plugging alcohol on their channels, some even making racist remarks.

The intent

The purpose of the #girlsmakeyourmove campaign was meant to encourage females to be more active and promote healthy living with active personalities like Lisa Smith and Sammy Robinson.

Hunt has stated of funding future social media campaigns, “There would need to be a demonstrated benefit and demonstrated suitability of any individual going forward, for this to recommence.”

The lesson for the rest of us? You can't do too much vetting.

Are you surprised at the pay for some influencers? Do you think Australia was right to pause the funding? Let us know what you think in the comments.