The sinister side to social media influencing
THE murky world of online influencing took another concerning turn in Ireland in recent days when a 29 year old woman received death threats after she was wrongly accused of being responsible for a naming and shaming social media page.
The anonymous ‘Bloggers Unveiled’ Instagram account has amassed some 220,000 followers as it exposes suspected frauds amongst the influencer and blogger world.
While for many this is a bit of fun to follow, for the wrongly targeted woman, it is anything but.
The gardaí are now investigating this harassment and she says she is living in fear for her life and using medication to cope with the stress.
The account was set up to unveil bogus claims by various online influencers and untruths pedalled as reality.
For too long these damaging images have exploited vulnerable consumers and to while there are advertising standards they must adhere to, it seems that this does not always happen.
The person behind the account must feel very strongly to dedicate such time and energy, as well as taking an enormous amount of abuse over it.
What is so concerning is that now, a totally innocent person has been victimised to the extent that the gardaí are involved and she has had to come out publicly to prove she is not involved, as her name and personal details were splashed about online.
This is typical online bullying and the ‘grown-ups’ responsible are showing a disgusting example for younger people, who are so involved in the influencing world and so captivated by the images and false realities they see.
This Bloggers Unveiled account has certainly ruffled feathers, and if someone is willing to make a death threat, then they are really unhappy about its existence.
Anyone working in the world of blogging, social media and online influencing has nothing to fear if they run a tight ship and adhere to the required standards.
If an online account has made false claims about them or their business, then there are channels to investigate this.
The events of the past couple of weeks have exposed a sinister and shady side to the influencing industry which would almost seem ridiculous if a person was not living in fear for her life.