In-Depth Report · Marketing Observations

In the Age of Influencer “Scandals,” How Can Brands Build a PR Firewall?

When an influencer’s trust capital evaporates overnight, the brands associated with that influencer rarely escape the fallout. From Liu Mang and Quan Liang Ji to Gymshark, the outcome of crisis management is often determined long before the partnership contract is signed.

Introduction: The Double-Edged Sword of Trust Transfer

In March 2026, Taiwanese YouTuber “Coco Alcohol,” who has approximately 500,000 subscribers, faced a backlash over an exaggerated title used for a Tokyo travel video. Netizens accused the creator of being “too deceptive,” and the incident eventually ended with an apology. The YouTuber admitted that the title had been written “for traffic” and used a “2026” angle.

Almost simultaneously, British sportswear brand Gymshark swiftly terminated its partnership with American influencer Alix Earle over her pro-Israel comments. Earle counterclaimed for US$1 million, and the two sides eventually reached a settlement.

Back in Taiwan, 2025 was described as the year with the highest density of influencer scandals: Liu Mang’s personal-conduct controversy; the dispute between Quan Liang Ji’s Jianing and Andy over equity and account control; and an inappropriate remark made by Lin Dao Juan Zi’s “Mother of Seven” during a sponsored livestream.

In the first half of 2026, online “backlash” incidents continued to emerge. Leaked internal conversations involving Tsai A-Ga’s “Ga Family Army” once again pushed brand partnerships into the center of public controversy.

These incidents share one common feature: it is not only the influencer who suffers a reputational collapse. The brands tied to that influencer are pulled into the crisis as well.

The underlying logic of the influencer economy is “trust transfer.” Fans trust a product recommendation because they like and trust the creator. But the trust chain operates in both directions. Once the creator’s persona collapses, the brand—having acted as an implicit endorser—can become a target of collective public criticism.

The outcome of crisis management is often determined before the partnership begins.

Chapter One: When Scandals Become Routine—the Risks Behind the Numbers

Let us begin with market size. The global influencer-marketing market reached approximately US$32 billion to US$33 billion in 2025, representing year-on-year growth of about 35%. It is projected to reach US$40 billion to US$47 billion in 2026.

Taiwan’s market is estimated at approximately US$239 million, growing 11.7% year over year. In 2025, 54% of multinational brands increased their influencer-marketing budgets.

The expansion of the market also magnifies the risk leverage. A 2025 survey by Sprout Social found that 59% of marketers planned to work with more influencers, yet only 65% felt confident in their ability to demonstrate ROI.

In other words, more than one-third of marketers are investing in risks that they struggle both to measure and to control.

As budgets grow and the number of partnerships increases, a single influencer scandal can wipe out the results of an entire quarter’s marketing efforts.

Key Data

1. Global influencer-marketing market: approximately US$32–33 billion in 2025, growing around 35% year over year; projected to reach US$40–47 billion in 2026.
2. Taiwan market: approximately US$239 million, growing 11.7% year over year.
3. In 2025, 54% of multinational brands increased influencer-marketing budgets; only 65% of marketers felt confident in proving ROI.

Chapter Two: Why Do Influencer Scandals Spill Over to Brands?

The key lies in the mechanism of “trust transfer.”

According to Nielsen’s consumer trust report, 83% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family, while 66% trust online reviews. Influencers occupy a “quasi-friend” role in the minds of their followers. Products they recommend are often perceived as sincere recommendations from someone familiar, rather than as advertisements.

The problem is that this trust works in both directions.

When an influencer becomes involved in a controversy, public perception of the associated brand may also reverse. The brand may be labeled as having “poor judgment” or being “careless in selecting partners.” It may even be accused of knowingly working with a risky creator.

More seriously, the influencer’s behavior may be interpreted as an extension of the brand’s values. For a brand built around positive values, association with a controversial figure can damage years of reputational investment almost overnight.

The Two Sides of Trust Transfer

Positive:

Fans trust an influencer’s recommendation because they like the creator, generating stronger conversion and word-of-mouth for the brand.

Negative:

When the creator’s persona collapses, the brand is treated as the endorser and becomes part of the backlash. Trust can reverse almost instantly.

Chapter Three: Four Major Risk Categories and Real-World Cases

In practice, influencer scandals can generally be divided into four categories. Each category produces different spillover effects and requires a different brand response.

Case One: Pazzo × Liu Mang—the Cost of Insufficient Pre-Screening

In 2023, Liu Mang faced negative allegations involving arrogant behavior and lateness. After her public image collapsed, she remained largely absent from the spotlight for more than nine months.

When she returned in 2025, a collaboration and co-branded collection with fashion brand Pazzo still triggered widespread online resistance.

The central problem was insufficient pre-campaign screening. The brand had not established a comprehensive risk-filtering process before the partnership, leaving it vulnerable to accusations that it had knowingly chosen a risky partner.

Case Two: Quan Liang Ji’s Jianing—the Amplification Effect of Single-Point Dependence

In 2025, the million-subscriber channel Quan Liang Ji became embroiled in a major dispute after Andy accused Jianing of issues involving unfair compensation and control over the channel account.

The channel lost a large number of followers, while brands that had previously collaborated with the creators were forced to distance themselves and terminate contracts.

The case exposed another risk: single-point dependence. When a brand places too much of its marketing investment on one influencer, a crisis involving that person magnifies the losses proportionally.

Case Three: Lin Dao Juan Zi’s “Mother of Seven”—A Livestream Slip-Up and Rapid Brand Distancing

During a sponsored livestream, “Mother of Seven” publicly mocked students in special resource classes, triggering widespread outrage. Partner brands quickly distanced themselves and terminated their collaborations.

Previously, she had also faced penalties from social and health authorities over dangerous behavior, including mountain climbing during pregnancy.

This kind of real-time livestream remark is the most difficult to prevent—and it puts a brand’s ability to respond immediately to the test.

Chapter Four: The Chain Reaction of Damage

The damage caused by an influencer controversy is not simply “one fewer social post.” It can produce four layers of harm:

Importantly, a brand may face public scrutiny even when it has no direct responsibility for the influencer’s actions. This occurs because of the perception of “shared endorsement.”

In recent years, consumer disputes arising from false or misleading influencer recommendations have also become increasingly common.

Chapter Five: The Golden 72 Hours—A Crisis-Response SOP

The most common mistake brands make during a crisis is to “wait and see.” But public opinion does not wait for a brand to feel ready. The response timeline must be measured in hours.

0–2 Hours · Internal Assessment

Convene an emergency response meeting. Confirm the nature of the incident, its scope, and the facts. Avoid making public statements before the available information has been verified.

2–6 Hours · Initial Statement

Release a brief statement confirming that the brand is aware of the issue and is handling it. This prevents an information vacuum from fueling further speculation.

6–24 Hours · Establish a Clear Position

Based on the nature of the incident, decide whether to distance the brand from the influencer or explain the brand’s position. Align all external messaging and prepare a dedicated FAQ.

24–72 Hours · Decisions and Action

Activate legal and PR teams. Communicate with the influencer’s management team. Execute the decision to distance the brand or support the creator, while continuing to monitor public sentiment.

After 72 Hours · Follow-Up and Recovery

Determine whether the crisis has entered a cooling-off period. Introduce compensation or remediation measures where appropriate, rebuild trust, and review the internal process.

Classify the Controversy: Not Every Crisis Requires an Immediate Cutoff

Five Reflex Actions

International influencer-marketing platform Kolsquare recommends five reflex actions during a crisis:

1. Pause all relevant activities;
2. Coordinate a fast and transparent response;
3. Assess the risk and adjust the communications strategy;
4. Engage in dialogue with affected communities;
5. Learn from the incident and strengthen internal processes.

The core principle is simple:

Face the issue, communicate, take action, and respond—never act hastily.

Chapter Six: Prevention Begins Before the Contract Is Signed

The best time to manage a crisis is before it happens.

By 2025, effective KOL marketing required brands to choose the right people, build safeguards, and prepare contingency plans in advance.

1. Choose the Right People: Affinity Over Reach

Brands should focus on more than follower count. The more meaningful measure is “favorability,” including:

1. Past statements and behavior;
2. Interaction style;
3. Previous controversies;
4. Emotional tone in community responses;
5. Compatibility between the creator’s audience and the brand’s values.

From 2025 onward, platforms such as AsiaKOL and SpotKOL began introducing AI tools capable of identifying changes in influencer favorability, scanning six to twelve months of past social-media posts, monitoring the authenticity of engagement rates, cross-referencing news databases, and assigning brand-fit scores.

2. Sign the Right Contract: Write Risk into the Agreement

Professional teams typically include image-protection or morality clauses in influencer contracts. If the KOL becomes involved in a major controversy, the brand may be able to terminate the partnership immediately.

Contracts should also address:

3. Diversify the Investment: Do Not Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

A brand should generally avoid allocating more than 20% to 30% of its total budget to a single KOL.

One possible allocation is:

1. 70% toward mid-tier creators with approximately 50,000 to 500,000 followers;
2. 30% toward high-profile influencers;
3. A backup list of three to five creators at a similar scale but with different styles, allowing the brand to respond quickly to an unexpected crisis.

4. Build Owned Traffic Assets: Reduce Dependence on Individual KOLs

Brands should develop membership programs, newsletters, and original content. They should also encourage user-generated content (UGC) and build their own first-party data.

Even if a partner becomes embroiled in a crisis, the brand will still possess an independent audience and data foundation rather than relying on a single creator to sustain its visibility and sales.

Chapter Seven: International Lessons—Gymshark vs. Pink Honey

These two international cases represent two contrasting approaches to crisis management. They also highlight the delicate balance between speed and attitude.

Gymshark: A Fast Cutoff at a Financial Cost

In March 2025, British sportswear brand Gymshark terminated its contract with American influencer Alix Earle following her pro-Israel comments. Earle had approximately 4.4 million followers on Instagram.

She argued that she had already created content and signed a contract, and sought US$1 million in compensation. The two sides ultimately reached a settlement.

Gymshark protected its brand image through a rapid separation, but incurred contractual and legal costs. For a sportswear brand whose image is a core asset, however, that cost may have been justified.

Pink Honey: An Emotional Apology That Made Things Worse

In 2023, cosmetics brand Pink Honey hosted an event attended by 17 influencers. All of the invited influencers were white women, prompting strong criticism over the lack of diversity.

Founder Olivia Taylor responded with an emotional, tearful video. Critics accused her of “avoiding responsibility” and showing “a lack of self-reflection,” which intensified the backlash. Some invited influencers even refused to publish any promotional content.

The Lesson from the Two Cases

Cut ties quickly, but respond sincerely.

Online communities are not necessarily looking for a perfect explanation. They want acknowledgment, action, and meaningful change. Excessive defensiveness can damage a brand more than silence.

Chapter Eight: Looking Ahead—Trust Replaces Reach

As 2026 begins, influencer marketing is shifting from a competition for reach to a competition for trust.

Conclusion: Crisis Management Must Be Written into Day One of the Partnership

The essence of the influencer economy is that brands borrow someone else’s trust capital.

That asset can evaporate overnight, or a single mistake can cause it to turn against the brand itself.

The influencer scandals of 2025 and 2026 offer a clear reminder: the outcome of crisis management is often decided before the partnership contract is signed.

Choose the right people. Build the safeguards. Prepare the alternatives.

This is not excessive caution. It is the basic discipline required for brands to survive in the current environment.

When crisis management is written into the partnership from day one, brands can build their own PR firewall against the storms of social media.

Sources

1. Jue Jin Media, “What Should Brands Do When a KOL Partnership Goes Wrong? A Complete Analysis of Brand Crisis Response in 2025”
2. i-Buzz, “How Should Brands Respond When a KOL Scandal Happens? A Guide to Favorability Assessment and Risk Management Before Influencer Partnerships”
3. Brainmax, “Analysis of the Quan Liang Ji Scandal: How Brand Marketing Should Respond to Influencer Controversies and PR Crises”
4. Kolsquare, “Crisis Management in Influencer Marketing”
5. Storm Media, “A Famous Female Influencer’s Major Scandal… Trying to Return After Only Two Years”
6. China Times, “Tokyo Travel Video Backfires After Netizens Call It Deceptive; YouTuber Apologizes”
7. ad-hub, “Taiwan Influencer-Marketing Market Insights 2025”
8. KOL Radar, “Poor Results from Influencer Partnerships? Debunking the Follower-Count Bubble: Key Brand-Marketing Priorities for 2026”
9. Commercial Times, “Influencer Marketing Enters the Performance Era”
10. Nielsen, “Building Trust with Consumers”