By Elizabeth Mozo Vicent (undergraduate FIGRI student)
It is quite common nowadays to consume content from YouTubers, influencers, Tik Tokers, or other content creators from other different streaming platforms rather than watching conventional TV shows or listening to the radio. So, because of this massive evolution in “how we value content, we watch,” it is not unusual to witness the fanaticism of some people with their favorite content creator. Of course, for people who work on social media, engagement with their audiences is essential to create a supportive community, but some of these influencers can take advantage of their fans' goodwill.
In the world of social media, many content creators have been exposed for defrauding their audiences by doing fake ads, promotions with questionable credibility, or creating brands and products that never ended up being released to the commercial market. A lot of people are angry and disappointed by dirty influencer tactics that were taken out of the urge to make more money. It is really concerning how new ways of scamming people have been created by these influencers and how more content creators are adding to these unpleasant habits.
The ones that are used to earning money through these “criminal activities" if we can call it that way, have a considerable number of subscribers or engagement in social media. The most used tactics by these influencers are fake giveaways, which work as follows: content creators will make a post on Instagram or upload a video on YouTube explaining to their audience, and possible new members, to subscribe or follow them on the platforms of the influencer’s preferences, then they will tell them that they are going to choose a random person from their followers list and will deliver prizes, usually cellphones or gadgets with exorbitant prices, but they never show the proof that the person received the prize; so they basically gain a huge number of followers by fooling people.
The previous example can sound a little bit silly because you are only hurting people's trust, although other influencers like to elevate their game by asking for a ticket, which obviously costs money, to enter the giveaways, so in this case, you are not only damaging trust, but also stealing people's money. So, this situation gets worse, but others like to take it a step further.
Last year, members of the Faze Clan (a group of gamers on YouTube) received major backlash after defrauding their fans. They decided to partner with an NGO which helped children from Africa with no food or water, specifically, children from Kenya. They sold token coins to their fans and told them that the money they earned from it would go to those children. However, after an extensive investigation from an expert on crypto coins, it was discovered that the NGO did not exist, and all the money was going to the influencers' pockets.
This is really concerning because nowadays it is quite common to find scandals related to this topic. It is noticeably clear that we need to take action to stop influencers from taking advantage of others, like stopping following them, not giving them likes or reactions, and not supporting them, so they will no longer interact with other people on social media.
It is hard to avoid emotional connections with our favorite content creators. They seem charismatic and trustful on the screen, but we must remember that we do not know what happens behind the camera.
