Being sold ‘insta-lies’

KURT Coleman has dumped on the industry of social media influencing, saying fans of the online stars are being lied to.

Former Gold Coaster Coleman, 25, became an online sensation about seven years ago when he began preaching selflove, being obsessed with himself and posting hundreds of selfies.

His fame came before making money online was a thing – but Coleman (pictured below) said he was never interested in getting involved.

“People think, and I always try to tell people, I’ve never wanted to be an influencer. I’ve never wanted to do that,” he said. “As soon as it started happening (making money online), I thought I didn’t want to do that. I always knew that because I’ve always wanted to be on camera. I don’t really care to sell products.”

He claimed he did not make a cent from his Instagram account which has 129,000 followers, and said he rejected any payments from brands and products he did not like.

“I’ve done it once before for a product I liked and hated it. You agree to it and it’s all good. You get sent the product and sent what you need to do,” he said. “Some places write exactly what you need to say, what angle you need to take the photo, what place you need to take the photo exactly.’’

He said plenty of influencers had fans who believed everything they said.

“There are good people with a big following but there are people who you think (care) that don’t,” Coleman said. “(Fans) think everything they are saying is because they care for them. But the reason why they say ‘this is amazing for you’ is because it’s a selling point.

“No one talks about this.’’