Social media’s ‘influencer’ problem

NYMag.com

Last year, “several famous YouTubers began sharing heart-wrenching confessionals of their struggles with depression and burnout,” said Simon Owens. It turns out they weren’t as personal as it seems. In reality, the raw, gripping videos were sponsored by the makers of an app that connects users with an online therapist—for a price. Viewers eventually realized the stars were cynically exploiting their emotions to push products. It’s not always easy to put those pieces together. Facebook and Instagram “influencers” who once earned $5,000 or $10,000 to promote a brand’s product now expect $100,000. Fraud is rampant, and it’s increasingly difficult to determine when influ-

encers are “taking questionable shortcuts that dupe both the brands that pay them and the social media followers they’re meant to influence.” Celebrity Instagrammers are especially prone to blurring the line between genuinely enthusiastic posts and paid sponsorships. Even as the business of social media promotion has exploded, regulators at the Federal Trade Commission have mostly ignored the problem. A few brands have been haphazardly tightening up their social media policies. But influencer marketing is ripe for a “Cambridge Analytica moment”—a “fraud so calamitous” that the industry is shamed into “adopting more drastic measures to police behavior.”