idk why people are still surprised when influencers turn out to be fake or problematic. Like didn't we all see this coming?

lol you're right, surprised pikachu face every time. i'm just shocked influencers would ever lie or do shady stuff. shocked i tell you!

Not everyone's a cynic, some people actually trust others at face value and get let down when they're proved wrong

yeah no kidding, it's not like we haven't been saying this for years. but what's even more exhausting is how their fans still defend them to the death

oh come on, not this again. just because a few influencers have messed up doesn't mean they're all fake and problematic. stop generalizing, we all know that's a lazy way to look at things.

maybe they just wanted to believe in the power of the #ad

we shouldn't be surprised, it's just a few extra special personas willing to do whatever it takes to be special

lol because hoping for better is just a hobby at this point

lol i thought they were fake or problematic when they started charged us for actual prayers

100% agree. the whole "influencer" thing is a sham. they'll say and do anything for attention and clout.

actually a lot of people still genuinely believe influencers are role models and not paid to present a perfect facade

are you kidding me? people are surprised because they genuinely thought these influencers were being real.

I'm with you on that. we're so desperate for authenticity online that we overlook the warning signs. Time to be more critical of the people we're choosing to look up to!

yeah but were you saying that when you were scrolling through their feeds, liking all their pics, and buying their

are we really acting like the people enabling their behavior aren't just as complicit?

yeah, for real. like what did people think was gonna happen when they started worshipping random people on the internet?

same energy with startup founders. everyone acts shocked when they tank the company with poor decisions. But didn't we all see the flags when they were slamming lattes and only talking exit strategies

yeah for real. it's like they think these clout-chasers have any actual morals or principles.

same, it's not like we didn't know they were selling a curated version of their lives to begin with. the real issue is that we're still believing what they're selling and giving them our attention

imagine thinking any of them were ever genuine to begin with. we're all just clowns in this circus.

come on. just because some influencers are fake doesn't mean we should just assume they all are and

are you kidding me? no one wants to believe their fave "authentic" influencer is actually a snake oil salesman

um sorry? thought influencers just being useless was a shock to everyone, not the fact they're

weren't you just promoting one last month though?

um, yeah no of course we did. that's why we're on the internet where we get to indulge in the

Don't you think it's weird that you're condemning the influencers, but not the culture that made them into idols in the first place?

lowkey same, but what's also worth examining is why we're so quick to people to influencer status in the first place. seems like we're just asking to be let down

i'm still surprised when people are surprised, i guess.

People just wanna believe it's not true. That's all. They don't wanna see the dark side of something they love.

no one saw this coming and also fine, let's just casually expect every adult to be fine every time

nah, influencers being flawed is not that obvious. most of them seem to have it all together. just because a few go off the rails doesn't mean we should be cynical about all of them.

yeah fr, like were they really that naive? what did they think was gonna happen?

can you really say you're that surprised when someone who's job is based on presenting a fake version of themselves to hte public turns out

not sure what kind of echo chamber you're in but i've seen plenty of everyday people genuinely change and grow after getting super online. how can we learn from their struggles if we're just assuming the worst?

real blast of genius insight coming from the guest post

yup, the only thing more predictable than them being fake is the public's outrage cycle. like we're just going to keep pretending we didn't know what we were getting with 'free' content and 'personalities' crafted by marketing teams

yeah, i guess some people just love being surprised by the same plot twist over and over

Guess we all should've clued in after the trillionth sponsorship deal thankyouverymuch.

i'm pretty sure 'influencer' is just a rebranding of 'snake oil salesman

same energy as being shocked when your aunt is still racist at thanksgiving

Do you really think people are 'surprised' or are they just finally willing to acknowledge it?

we were all too busy being the problem to see it coming

y'all thought karma was gonna wait on the internet too

are you really surprised that the people who built careers on selling a curated lifestyle are actually not that authentic? come on now.

no we all saw it coming but to imply everyone's stupid for being genuinely shocked is not cool. the lack of surprise doesn't equal a lack of wrongness.

yeah, speak for yourself. i've been a loyal fan of plenty of influencers and they've never let me down.

preach i've been saying this for years, and it's even worse when the people they're influencing r kids and teens who look up to them and don't know

do you really think most people are following influencers for authenticity?

i dont get that take at all. just because some influencers are shitty doesnt mean they all are.

do they get paid to make low-key obvious statements or is that just a hobby?

you really think people are still surprised by that? isn't it obvious that's the nature of the influencer game these days?

like, at this point i'm surprised we're still surprised. next surprise me with a new way to respond to a tired phrase.

same energy as people who date someone in a jersey with their own name on it and act shocked when it doesn't work out

are you kidding me? people are surprised because influencers go to great lengths to present a fake image and some folks genuinely believe

true, people need to stop being shocked when influencers show their true colors. these "role models" are just out for clout and don't actually care about their followers.

I mean, you'd think people would've learned from the first century of reality TV but nope, same pattern plays out in the "gaming" space and everywhere else. So predictable.

yeah, people want to believe in their favorite personalities, it's not that obvious to everyone. Give people some credit for being hopeful and naive. It's not all cynicism and skepticism all the time.

I don't think we did see it coming. People put these influencers on pedestals, ignoring red flags left and right. We all want to believe the best in others, that's human nature.

yeah no kidding, teh surprise is that anyone thought "being an influencer for a living" was ever a

nah mate, i don't agree with that at all. these influencers trick people into thinking they're genuine when in reality

Actually people are often surprised because they want to believe. They see a made-up persona and think it's aspirational, not a sales pitch.

what do you mean "we all saw this coming"? are you surprised people still fall for this stuff or are you just feeling smug about it?

yeah but where's the fun in being right all the time?

maybe they were blinded by all the filters 🙄

yeah, for real. what did people expect from influencers who got famous for being "perfect" on social media? that they'd actually be perfect in real life? gimme a break.

i know, right? social media has always been a highlight reel. it's easy to get caught up in the perfect lives we see online.

no, not everyone has a whole 'influencer scandal bingo card' going on in their head all the time, some people are just genuinely surprised when someone they admire turns out to be a jerk

do you really think that's surprising? influencers are just trying to make money, they don't actually care about their "fans." what did you expect, for them to be genuine and ethical? come on, we all know that's not how this industry works.

yeah exactly, it's not like it's a new thing for people to present a fake image for clout.

do you really think anyone is still surprised by that? we've all known influencers are full of it for years. the real question is why anyone still takes them seriously.

yeah no kidding, it's like being surprised when a node.js developer doesn't know what they're doing just because they have a large following

fr. and the craziest part is ppl keep giving them attention and money even after all the scandals. like, when will y'all learn?

Okay, but have you actually looked at the data on what percentage of influencers have genuine, positive impacts? Or are you just generalizing based on a few high-profile scandals?

lol same people who still fall for "sponsored by" and think it's not an ad

idk why you're acting like everyone else is just as jaded as you lol are you gonna name names or just vaguely dunk on unsuspecting normies?

then why do we still keep eating it up and giving them our money/pills/platform

agree - it's time to stop giving them a free pass just cuz they're famous... the real influencers are the ones crushing it in the background, no followers, no validation needed

like, how were we supposed to know? we're still surprised when cats wake themselves up in the morning

that's a pretty cynical take. just because some influencers are problematic doesn't mean they all are. we should give people a chance and not assume the worst. not everyone is out to deceive us.

yeah like, what's next are we gonna be surprised when politicians lie or a waiter forgets to bring us our drinks

Yeah, it's like expecting your aunt to stop being extra on Facebook

because we love a good fairy tale i guess

but don't you think we kinda enabled it by throwing money at them without doing our due diligence?

kind of like how we didn't see the sun rising today either

Exactly! What did people think was gonna happen when we gave random people with no real skills or qualifications a platform to build

Isn't the real question why we keep elevating these influencers to begin with? My model suggests we're too quick to idolize people with large online followings, often without scrutinizing their character or credentials.

Did you consider that maybe some people are more trusting by nature and want to believe the best in others? Not everyone is as cynical as you.

guess that's why they called it an influ-ence, not an influ-ence proof safe space for our well-being

yeah the naivety is wild. didn't we learn from flocking to myspace and then watching it become a breeding ground foredby teenagers and spam bots?

tell me you didn't fall for the carefully curated highlight reel without saying you fell for the

duh, thats what happens when you get all your life advice from someone who just takes selfies all

totally agree. it's like we're shocked every time a 'personal brand' turns out to be a curated lie. also, who's more at fault - the influencers or the people who blindly follow them?

classic victim blaming of my entireDashboard

I don't think it's obvious to everyone. And even if it is, it doesn't mean we should just roll over and accept it. People follow influencers for a reason - they're supposed to be genuine, at least. It's still worth calling out the fakes and hypocrites when they're exposed.

guess we just thought they'd continue to pretend to be down to earth, one vlog at a time

that's why i only follow real-life janitors. they're the true influencers.

i feel like this is just a revelation irl influencers are like stupid clowns a circus would fire but the internet just keeps taking our checks

preach! it's called blind worship and it's gonna keep happening until people start doing their research instead of just mindlessly following

kind of like how we all saw the it cup coming, right?

preach! i'm so over the performative outrage when it's like, yeah we knew they were fake all along. can we please just hold people accountable from the start instead of being shocked every time?

yeah seriously, how many times do people have to get let down before they realize that most influencers are just putting on an act? it's almost like they want to be disappointed.