The YouTube/Instagram/Blogger world is a weird and wonderful place, isn’t it.
One of the biggest bones of contention has always been how these normal folks get such bloody huge followings – for every blogger and vlogger who grew their following organically, there’s a whole truckload who are using schemy, shitty methods to bump theirs up with bots and fake followers.
YouTuber Chloe Morello is one of Australia’s OG vloggers and she has had enough, mates. She took to her personal channel (which has 2.3 million followers) to speak out against “fraud” in the industry, calling out all the ways that fraudulent influencers up their numbers.
“It is definitely frustrating to see people given the same opportunities as me, going to the same events … overseas holidays, hundreds and hundreds of free product and even being paid by brands,” she explains in the video.
Chloe says that the key sign is a stable amount of likes/comments on posts, compared to legit influencers, whose engagement will have a “natural fluctuation”. She once found an influencer who had more likes on their Instagram post than views, which makes no sense when you think about it.
She also says to watch out for influencers with an overwhelmingly high amount of likes and comments, as they’re potentially buying the engagement, in which they use WhatsApp groups or pay users overseas to like and comment on photos.
It all sounds ridiculous and self-absorbed, but given the vlogging and blogging industry is hugely profitable, going to these extreme lengths can lead to plenty of $$ and free shit for these fakies. It makes sense that Chloe, who’s been doing this for yonks, is pretty riled up about it.
Sadly on the tea front, Chloe doesn’t name any names. Ever the professional, that one.
