“Today’s my husband and I’s fourth wedding anniversary, so I decided to wake up super early and make him bagels and cream cheese from scratch,” Nara Smith narrates in a recent TikTok video. The model is dressed in a sweeping black peignoir set, her hair perfectly slicked back, her cheekbones …
Read More »Influencers Boosted Biden in 2020. Now Some Are Turning on Him
In 2020, campaigning at the height of the global pandemic, the Biden campaign leaned heavily on influencers to reach young voters. Republican rivals called it a cop out — they said Biden was “hiding in his basement” —but it was hard to argue with the results of that social media-intensive …
Read More »Influencers Aren't Winning: Analyzing The Creator Economy Problem
According to a report released by Goldman Sachs, the creator economy is expected to reach a staggering $480 billion by 2027. The report demonstrates that, despite a stronghold of 50 million content creators worldwide, this number is expected to increase by a compounded annual growth rate of 10-20 percent. Simultaneously, …
Read More »Why Is the Right So Obsessed with Seed Oils?
“Before seed oils were invented, everybody was hot and healthy,” reads the first sentence of an Aug. 21 tweet by Carnivore Aurelius, a Twitter account with more than 300,000 followers. The tweet cites statistics claiming to link consumption of seed oils to an increase in obesity and cardiovascular disease rates, …
Read More »He Taught People to Make Bombs — And YouTube Is Helping Him Cash In
“This is a United Nations peacekeeping helmet,” says a middle-aged white man in a denim shirt, with a red bandana tied around his neck, in a TikTok video. He holds an iPad up to the camera, displaying an image of the familiar blue helmet worn by UN personnel deployed in …
Read More »Partnering With an Influencer? Consider These Factors First
With around 72 percent of Gen Z and Millennials following influencers on social media, it’s difficult to deny the powerful reach influencer marketing can have on such a large portion of the consumer population. Influencers not only boast an established audience of viewers, but they also possess a unique, loyal …
Read More »The Actors' Strike Is Already Changing TikTok. Here's How
When SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in striking against the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, there was immediate action. The cast of summer blockbuster Oppenheimer immediately left their screening, SAG president Fran Drescher delivered a fervid speech blaming the AMPTP for Hollywood’s halt, and SAG was quick to release …
Read More »The Far Right Wants This LGBTQ TikToker Dead. They Say That's Only Making Them Stronger
You don’t have to tell Jeffrey Marsh they make a certain portion of the internet upset. They’re well aware— they just won’t let it stop them from helping people. Long before trans star Dylan Mulvaney‘s collaboration with Bud Light lit a portion of the right’s brains on fire, Marsh was …
Read More »How a Makeup Brand Melted Down TikTok
This week’s viral controversy has everything — two all-expenses-paid brand trips, major influencers, dozens of deleted videos, an apology in the form of a Get Ready With Me tutorial, a Formula 1 race, the late singer Prince, and an ongoing conversation about what kind of treatment companies owe creators of …
Read More »Influencers Are Claiming a $4,000 Hunk of Plastic Can Treat Infertility, Skinned Knees, and Autism
“I have literally never experienced anything that has had such a profound effect on multiple levels,” gushes the wellness influencer in the caption to her Instagram story. She’s a mom of four, pretty in the way most wellness influencers are, with long, well-conditioned tresses and skin that appears to glow …
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