Hidden Advertising Practices in The Frame of Ethical Problematic of Social Media Advertising

Social media's level of access and interaction makes this channel attractive for advertisers and marketers. The fact that the legal structure of social platforms has not yet been established and its incorporating applications that are ahead of other channels in terms of creativity makes social media more preferable, especially for advertisers. Social media environments that quickly take place in our lives thanks to their accessibility also bring a number of ethical problems along with them. Many ethical issues from not ensuring the security of user data to individuals' being exposed to unwanted or hidden advertisements are being discussed. Unlike traditional advertising, advertisements which are not explicitly addressed and embedded within contents are referred as surreptitious advertising. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the case study of surreptitious advertising the violations of advertising ethics in the social media, which are not still legalized, through the sample. Videos from YouTube channels, Stolk and Vibio, where news from the agenda, cultural and entertaining contents are fictionally designed by a technical staff management are examined and the surreptitious advertising in the videos are analyzed through content analysis. The way in which the brand / product included in the advertisement which are not explicitly addressed within the video stream are presented. The study is important in terms of guiding other researchers working on ethical issues in the social media advertising and the control mechanisms that advocate the need for a decision-making mechanism.