influencers

But the platforms they thrived on have started to turn against them. Just a few weeks ago, WeChat and Douyin began suspending, removing, or restricting their accounts. While influencers on these platforms have been turning people’s anxiety into traffic and profits for a long time, the latest actions show how Chinese social platforms are trying to contain the damage before it goes too far.  The backlash started last month, as students angrily complained on social media about the superficiality of the courses, saying that…

Credit: Journal of Marketing (2023). DOI: 10.1177/00222429231223420 Researchers from Reichman University and Columbia University, University of Basel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and University of Mannheim have published a new article that examines why individuals and firms aiming to build a large follower base might be better off focusing on their own follower base rather than cherry-picking remote influencers.…

In December, Pandabuy announced on its official Discord server that more than 15,000 influencers joined its affiliate marketing program last year, thanking them for their “dedicated efforts” with two emojis of Pepe the Frog clutching a red heart. That’s a small number compared to Amazon’s roughly 900,000 affiliates, but trading in counterfeits is illegal.If a person clicks an influencer’s affiliate link and buys the replica Rick Owens sneakers on Pandabuy, the company buys them through the original Taobao listing. Once…

A video titled “congrats, you’ve ruined your face” from creator Stephanie Lange has been viewed on YouTube more than 1.1 million times. Meanwhile, influencers like TheWizardLiz and simonesquared have built their brands by taking digs at viewers, teaching them “How to stop being lazy and pathetic” and bluntly declaring “You are a clown.” All across the social media platform, lifestyle creators have adopted a new strategy to attract viewers: title negging.The frames of these videos are simple yet effective, targeting…

In a video posted on TikTok, Fort Collins resident Rachel Pastor outlines the key ways to benefit from microdosing with psilocybin. Take care of your physical body, she says, and be sure to set an intention when taking the substance. Have a consistent microdosing routine and, most importantly, make time to reflect on the experience and apply any lessons learned to other aspects of life. Pastor’s video, which has been viewed more than 10,000 times, is like many others on the social media platform that tout the benefits of…

The ominous messages began arriving in Elissa’s inbox early last year. “You sell pics of your underage daughter to pedophiles,” read one. “You’re such a naughty sick mom, you’re just as sick as us pedophiles,” read another. “I will make your life hell for you and your daughter.” Elissa has been running her daughter’s Instagram account since 2020, when the girl was 11 and too young to have her own. Photos show a bright, bubbly girl modeling evening dresses, high-end workout gear and dance leotards. She has more than…

“Today’s my husband and I’s fourth wedding anniversary, so I decided to wake up super early and make him bagels and cream cheese from scratch,” Nara Smith narrates in a recent TikTok video. The model is dressed in a sweeping black peignoir set, her hair perfectly slicked back, her cheekbones flawlessly contoured, her voice as smooth and unctuous as the olive oil she pours into her mixing bowl. She is also eight months pregnant. Over the next few minutes, Smith documents in painstaking detail how she makes her own…

Rage bait isn’t just common online anymore, it’s taking over the internet — and changing the way we view content in the process. Many early forms of internet content were rage bait adjacent, meant to stop people in their tracks long enough for them to have an emotional response and then engage. Think of early YouTube clickbait titles or trollish comments under tweets or Instagram posts meant to incite angry replies. But in the influencer age, a new character has emerged: the rage-bait influencers. On their home…

The owner of the stately home used in the film Saltburn has revealed he has had to ask staff to patrol the grounds to stop trespassers trying to take photos and videos of themselves on the grounds.Charles Stopford Sackville, the current owner of the 700-year-old Drayton House in Northamptonshire, told the Mail on Sunday he was unprepared for the intense attention Emerald Fennell’s film would bring with it.“I never envisaged the amount of interest there would be. It’s quite weird,” he said. “I don’t take it as…

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022 — destroying the constitutional right to abortion access — conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion that the court should also reconsider previous rulings that established the right to contraception. Less than a month later, all but 10 House Republicans voted against a proposed bill that would have enshrined access to birth control into law. Senate Republicans didn’t support the legislation, either. If it wasn’t clear then that…