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Are influencers just modern-day scammers with better branding?
Posted by on April 17, 2026 at 7:07 pmMost influencers sell lifestyles that aren’t real, promote products they don’t use, and make money off people who trust them.
How is that different from scamming just more socially accepted?
Or am I being too harsh?
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1 Reply
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In my opinion, YES a lot of them are. Some, I think, or hope, have decent intentions. But a lot of them are def modern day scammers. But with the world today, with AI threatening jobs and costs rising… can we really blame them? I’m not supporting them, but I get it. They’re trying to find another source of income they have more control over. In some ways I wish I had it in me to do the same, but it’s just not me. If you think an influencer is a scammer, just call them out or stop following them. Block them even. They can do their thing and we can ignore it. We need to stop enabling that behavior. The platforms and their algos make it worse so we need to signal that we are tired of this before they will bother changing.
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Depends on your definition of influencer. If you ask me an influencer is someone with a big online presence that posts content and shapes opinions.
This applies to the people you talk about but also musicians, actors, politicans, comedians and athletes.
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Short answer is yes, BUT – I think the majority of influencers go into it thinking they’ll just make some easy money doing not a whole lot. I don’t think they go into it wanting to scam people, but reality is that the only way they can end up making money is by scamming people, and once they see some cashflow the morals go out the window
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They are just sales people, like there have been for a long time, and yes, many sales people are outright scammers or at least use social and psychological pressure for you to buy. Especially since your attention now factors into their payout.
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You are being based
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