Influencers over-editing photos in Social Media/Cyber-bullying accusations

Martina1991

The whole influencer thing reminds me of Mean Girls.

"I saw Cady Heron wearing army pants and flip flops so I bought army pants and flip flops".

WHIP IT!

I suppose the way I would see it is, it's a completely unregulated "industry", if you can call it an industry. All you need is, by hook or by crook, a certain amount of Insta/Twitter/FB followers and maybe a bit of a connection in some (almost as unregulated) online media outlet and, hey presto, you are an Influencer!

It's certainly not exclusive to make-up, beauty and cosmetics etc... it's a problem in the fitness industry as well and any kind of fashion - men's, women's, whoever - and I'm sure plenty of others too.

Ireland is a very small place and a coterie of people with a smattering of followers can wield - and guard - a big influence.

EDIT: I also just wanted to mention, as an example of how unregulated the whole thing is, that most influencers as far as I can see (possibly not the very large ones) are far from tax compliant - and that may be what eventually sees the whole influencer community brought into line at some stage.
I recall a twitter thread from a journalist who was looking into some tax details for some reason and noticed that all people receiving any kind of free gifts or services in a working environment were liable to be taxed on the full value of said gifts/services - they are effectively seen as a payment. The Journalist asked the question, 'what does this mean for the influencer community?'

One Influencer type chimed in and said something to the effect of "Oh yes, LOL, we give all of ours away for free as gifts, prizes etc, LOL" - only for the journalist to point out that that was actually immaterial - they were still liable from a taxation point of view.... needless to say, no further comment from Influencer #boss type...

wyrn

WHIP IT! wrote: »

I suppose the way I would see it is, it's a completely unregulated "industry", if you can call it an industry. All you need is, by hook or by crook, a certain amount of Insta/Twitter/FB followers and maybe a bit of a connection in some (almost as unregulated) online media outlet and, hey presto, you are an Influencer!

It's certainly not exclusive to make-up, beauty and cosmetics etc... it's a problem in the fitness industry as well and any kind of fashion - men's, women's, whoever - and I'm sure plenty of others too.

Ireland is a very small place and a coterie of people with a smattering of followers can wield - and guard - a big influence.

That's it exactly. I actually gave many of them the benefit of the doubt. They'd start small as a part time interest and then suddenly, it's not a hobby but an industry or an actual paying job.

When you start getting paid for work, it then becomes an industry and they generally fall under the ASAI (advertising standards authority). Sadly the ASAI is playing catch up with these influencers especially when you look at the regulations in the UK and US. Here they issue a statement that such and such said sorry and that's the end of it. There's no real incentive for bloggers to keep the ASAI rules. Even the companies sponsoring don't seem to care.

The other big thing which might still yet erupt is the followers. It looks like many bloggers are buying followers judging by Social Blade stats. You'll see the number of followers going up and down and suddenly you could see +500, +1000 or even +3000 in a single day. It really makes you wonder. Most PR companies tend to work with the bigger bloggers who have a huge following instead of working with bloggers who actually like your product and will sell it.

WHIP IT!

wyrn wrote: »

That's it exactly. I actually gave many of them the benefit of the doubt. They'd start small as a part time interest and then suddenly, it's not a hobby but an industry or an actual paying job.

When you start getting paid for work, it then becomes an industry and they generally fall under the ASAI (advertising standards authority). Sadly the ASAI is playing catch up with these influencers especially when you look at the regulations in the UK and US. Here they issue a statement that such and such said sorry and that's the end of it. There's no real incentive for bloggers to keep the ASAI rules. Even the companies sponsoring don't seem to care.

The other big thing which might still yet erupt is the followers. It looks like many bloggers are buying followers judging by Social Blade stats. You'll see the number of followers going up and down and suddenly you could see +500, +1000 or even +3000 in a single day. It really makes you wonder. Most PR companies tend to work with the bigger bloggers who have a huge following instead of working with bloggers who actually like your product and will sell it.

That's interesting, can I ask what guidelines or rules are in place for the UK and USA in this regard?

wyrn

WHIP IT! wrote: »

That's interesting, can I ask what guidelines or rules are in place for the UK and USA in this regard?

Ermm, I can't remember off the top of my head but the big thing was to have a disclaimer on social media if you were being paid. Our bloggers were very absentminded about putting up #ad #sp (advertisement, sponsored etc...) on their paid posts. Then there was the sneaky I'll just add #ad or #sp on the very first or last video (say on snapchat). Then the ASAI had to clarify that the #ad or #sp needs to be visible for the entire video. There has also been the magically colour coded #ad #sp on videos, where they blend into the background and can barely be seen. Many bloggers tried to make out that they weren't being sponsored and that it wasn't a marketed advertisement.

Here's what the ASAI had to say about it recently http://www.asai.ie/press-releases/advertising-standards-authority-for-ireland-calls-on-bloggers-and-influencers-to-fully-declare-marketing-communications/

clarkej5

All, it is plain to see the regular freebies influencers get. One blogger is always getting her fresh nails and showing pics/dropping names of the salons, then one time PAID for it and she ranted and raved about €70 being SOOOO expensive for nails.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Well after all her fighting talk about tackling bullying it looks like Suzanne started the trend with an article in 2011, referring to people as trannys and having awful faces.

retro:electro

Aviana Zealous Shaver wrote: »

Well after all her fighting talk about tackling bullying it looks like Suzanne started the trend with an article in 2011, referring to people as trannys and having awful faces.

And after being called out on it is now claiming people are trying to ruin her. How about you take some responsibility for the shlte you write instead of pressing the deflect button.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Always the victim. Victim when people did it to her. Victim when she did it to others. Nobody called her a tranny.

Rubberchikken

Hand on heart ive never been on social media facebook snapchat etc nor have i ever read/ seen a blog so its never had any effect on me but my daughter used to follow/read a number of them.
But ive noticed that with age the realisation that most of them arent worth her time means that shes dropped/unfollowed most.
I personally cant see the attraction of reading strangers ramblings and i do get the irony.

themakeupfurey

ace_irl wrote: »

I think Rosie came across the best, she actually seamed to take a bit of ownership and I had respect for her for saying she is going to try to do less editing etc. In saying that, I don't think she was ever bad with over editing in the first place.

I think Sue was embarrassed a bit by her rant, and I think MUF is hiding, she was very clever to not actually address the editing thing at all, totally by passed it.

I would have to disagree on this Rosie and a lot of other bloggers show off a different image of themselves, I had an encounter with rosie before and she was very rude and indirect bullying happened by herself so she is quite the hypocrite.

GingerLily

themakeupfurey wrote: »

I would have to disagree on this Rosie and a lot of other bloggers show off a different image of themselves, I had an encounter with rosie before and she was very rude and indirect bullying happened by herself so she is quite the hypocrite.

How did she bully you?

pc7

Interview with lady behind the account, https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/woman-behind-controversial-instagram-account-11837113

She speaks such sense great it’s opened the discussion

blairbear

There's a part of me that feels very sorry for Joanne; not because she was called out for her nonsense, but because I have suffered from an eating disorder, in varying degrees of severity, for 20 years, and recognise a lot of my own practices and tendencies in her. Very unhealthy practices.

I would regularly contact friends on fb when I was in college to delete certain photos. I even asked a nightclub to take a photo down that they took of my friends and I. I loved my own pictures of myself; I never edited them in any way but I could pose nicely and choose my favourites. I still am completely obsessive over photos of me. I missed out on holidays recently cos I was scared to renew my passport photo in case I didn't look pretty enough. The security photo for my swipe in work made me sick with anxiety beforehand. And yet, I still don't think I am anywhere near as hard on myself as Joanne is, and I have never altered anything. (That would make me feel worse tbh, looking at a "better version" of the real me.)

I do all of these things on a background of having a highly restrictive eating disorder since I was 13. I have insight that it is very unhealthy. Joanne has a disordered relationship with her body and food too, to say the very least. Nobody who is "body positive" acts like I do, or like Joanne does.

The problem for Joanne and other susceptible women is that we have 24/7 access to a camera. 10 or 15 years ago, we took photos at events or a night out, when we looked our best. They were less high res and didn't show up every tiny blemish. I genuinely think people need to just STOP TAKING SO MANY PHOTOS of themselves. Myself included. It is a recipe for utter misery.

Her worst crime in my book was the implication that Paul emotionally abused her. She has spoken previously about another long term boyfriend who treated her badly. The post was written just obtusely enough not to pin anything on Paul for definite. She can't seem to help herself when it comes to lashing out like this. She is just making one poor decision after another.

Her social media image is purely a fantastical construct. If she let it go, she might actually find herself to be far more fulfilled.

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Joanne learned that the hard way last weekend(if she has learned anything at all...)

GingerLily

blairbear wrote: »

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Joanne learned that the hard way last weekend(if she has learned anything at all...)

Excellent post!!

But I'm just wondering - has she learnt anything?
Is she not still in denial?

blairbear

CRIPES. You all need to read Paul's latest post before he deletes it!

GingerLily

blairbear wrote: »

CRIPES. You all need to read Paul's latest post before he deletes it!

Where??

La_Gordy

blairbear wrote: »

CRIPES. You all need to read Paul's latest post before he deletes it!

Any chance of a screenshot?

Also excellent previous post.

wyrn

GingerLily wrote: »

Where??

Instagram with a pic "False allegations of abuse are abuse"

rawn

blairbear wrote: »

CRIPES. You all need to read Paul's latest post before he deletes it!

Paul who?

blairbear

La_Gordy wrote: »

Any chance of a screenshot?

Also excellent previous post.

It's very, very long. Would be 5 or 6 screenshots. Bodybycontrol on instagram.

And thank you!

c.p.w.g.w

blairbear wrote: »

It's very, very long. Would be 5 or 6 screenshots. Bodybycontrol on instagram.

And thank you!

Fairplay to him for standing up for himself, but no doubt he'll face a massive backlash. Probably get called a pig, monster etc

wyrn

rawn wrote: »

Paul who?

Paul (bodybycontrol on Instagram) was MUF ex boyfriend. They broke up days after moving in with each other rather suddenly. MUF made many veiled hints at who was to blame. Paul never said a word although he did screenshot some of the very nasty messages he was getting. He's just sort of broken his silence.

njs030

blairbear wrote: »

It's very, very long. Would be 5 or 6 screenshots. Bodybycontrol on instagram.

And thank you!

He was unhappy for months!! Why did they move in together.

Wow. She has treated him appalling and she's been acting the victim all along.

Wellyd

notjustsweet wrote: »

He was unhappy for months!! Why did they move in together.

Wow. She has treated him appalling and she's been acting the victim all along.

I by no means am a fan of Paul’s, in fact I think he thrived off the attention he got from her followers, but he did need to come out and say something. Words like abuse have a terrible stigma attached to them. I’m so glad to see the influencer bubble has finally burst.

rawn

Thanks for the clarification!

He came across very well in that post, fair play to him!

wyrn

Wellyd wrote: »

I by no means am a fan of Paul’s, in fact I think he thrived off the attention he got from her followers, but he did need to come out and say something. Words like abuse have a terrible stigma attached to them. I’m so glad to see the influencer bubble has finally burst.

I thought that too but after the breakup my views on him changed 180. I initially followed him to snoop a little but I actually kept him there because I enjoy his videos. He's actually quite funny and not as annoying. I thought he was a complete user but actually he seems very different now. I honestly never thought I'd like him. He went from smug and smary to dignified and funny. Go figure!

ratmouse

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

Fairplay to him for standing up for himself, but no doubt he'll face a massive backlash. Probably get called a pig, monster etc

Why would there be a backlash against him??

wyrn

ratmouse wrote: »

Why would there be a backlash against him??

She has a huge following. She made cryptic posts about her "traumatising" break up. She led us to believe that he acted completely inappropriately with her and that she had to flee London. They broke up on a weekend and she was back in Dublin by the Tuesday I think.

It seems some of her fans took this to mean that he was awful to her and she had no choice but to leave. They sent him awful messages. He's been nothing but dignified and even refuted the main rumours that were swirling around.

MUF seems to have fans that will believe in her no matter what. We here on boards did tend to give her the benefit of the doubt during the breakup. Now however, it seems that we might have been too quick.

GingerLily

He ends his post with:
"I cannot speak to the motives of the other person but I believe this behaviour was an attempt to bully and intimidate me as punishment for the relationship not working out.
.
I would love nothing more than to draw a line in the sand and have nothing more to do with any of this from this point onwards.
.
Thanks
.
Paul x"

Lead

Good for him after all the shít he took after the breakup.

witchgirl26

WHIP IT! wrote: »

That's interesting, can I ask what guidelines or rules are in place for the UK and USA in this regard?

I follow more UK bloggers than I do Irish ones and I gather that they will get fined and pulled up by the advertising authority there if all insta's, snaps, blogs or videos are no appropriately labelled as #ad and that it has to clear in the description etc. I do know one got a fine because the #ad was in the description of a video on youtube where I think it needs to be in the title.

The management companies also seem to be more on top of things like that with them over there. I've heard a couple mention how they were given workshops on advertising standards and rules which I think is lacking in the Irish blogger sphere to a degree. Some seem to have gotten it but clearly others have not.

Sunshineboo

I'm glad he has cleared his name but a part of me does feel a bit sorry for her even though she has brought this all on her self. I feel she is certainly suffering with some sort of mental illness and does need help.

I have seen her in real life and she looks nothing like her photos, very pretty girl with a fab figure but just nothing like her heavily edited pictures. Years ago I remember she did make up for Lovely Girlie bits (blogger) sister's wedding and she seemed so normal then and bubbly. It's kind of sad to see her decline even though she has been very untruthful in a lot of this.

Lead

Jaysus it's all kicking off on his instagram with Gail Kaneswaren jumping in to defend Joanne.

retro:electro

I'm finding it harder and harder to feel sorry for. I feel sympathy for her on a very basic human level, but she is completely the author of her own demise. If she hadn't taken it upon herself to be so evasive, deliberately aloof and intentionally deceptive then things would be different. And all for what? Attention.

SusieBlue

anna080 wrote: »

I'm finding it harder and harder to feel sorry for. I feel sympathy for her on a very basic human level, but she is completely the author of her own demise. If she hadn't taken it upon herself to be so evasive, deliberately aloof and intentionally deceptive then things would be different. And all for what? Attention.

She lied, and lied, and lied. About reselling gifted items. About photoshopping. About losing weight. About buying her apartment in London. About Paul being emotionally abusive.
She knew people were aware of what she was up to but refused to address it.
And now it has all blown up in her face and she's playing the victim. Its actually mind blowing that she was so arrogant she thought she could get away with it.

Nobody likes being taken advantage of. And that's exactly how her fans feel right now. She forced a fake reality on them, by silencing any opposing views, and she isn't equipped to deal with the repercussions of her actions now.

I pity her in that I actually can't believe she didn't see this coming. People were eventually going to wise up. I simply can't feel sorry for her on that count because she's a 31 year old business woman and should know better than the mistakes she made.

GingerLily

WhiteRoses wrote: »

She lied, and lied, and lied. About reselling gifted items. About photoshopping. About losing weight. About buying her apartment in London. About Paul being emotionally abusive.
She knew people were aware of what she was up to but refused to address it.
And now it has all blown up in her face and she's playing the victim. Its actually mind blowing that she was so arrogant she thought she could get away with it.

Nobody likes being taken advantage of. And that's exactly how her fans feel right now. She forced a fake reality on them, by silencing any opposing views, and she isn't equipped to deal with the repercussions of her actions now.

I pity her in that I actually can't believe she didn't see this coming. People were eventually going to wise up. I simply can't feel sorry for her on that count because she's a 31 year old business woman and should know better than the mistakes she made.

Its very hard to forgive someone who denies what they've done and repeatedly does it then again and again.

I don't like witch hunts but her behaviour is appalling and it's ridiculous that she has gotten away with it for so long.

SusieBlue

GingerLily wrote: »

Its very hard to forgive someone who denies what they've done and repeatedly does it then again and again.

I don't like witch hunts but her behaviour is appalling and it's ridiculous that she has gotten away with it for so long.

I honestly think the only way of saving the extreme damage done to her career at this point is to hold her hands up, admit it, and apologise.
She has lost all credibility over the last week and if she doesn't take responsibility I can't see her career recovering. People are really angry.

dee_mc

I don't follow MUF (or any Irish bloggers/vloggers/influencers actually) but have followed the recent threads here on boards with interest. I looked at some of her content when she first moved to the UK and a bit since and to be honest, it was very uncomfortable viewing. She seems like a very damaged young woman. A lot of people have made the point that they never believed she actually looked how she appeared in the pics she published (and this has been proven now, with all the side-by-side comparison pics) but the really worrying thing is that I think Joanne herself partly believes in the image she's curated for herself? Again, I think she's a very damaged young woman and I hope her family will take her in hand and encourage her to get the help she needs with her body image issues and probable anxiety.
I'd also like to commend the posters on these threads for not lowering themselves to personal abuse and attacks on Joanne - if she was to read these threads she could take a lot of very fair, well-meaning advice from them.
I feel sorry for her, as a perfectly nice-looking, seemingly bright young woman, that she hasn't the confidence and self-worth to accept and love her appearance and herself as she is/was.
I also feel sorry for her young followers who might have believed the hype.
Fair play to Paul for his very articulate and IMO fair statement on Instagram. Unbelievable to see many of Joanne's supporters and friends attacking and accusing him. There's two sides to every story but a lady in Joanne's position would have been better off either keeping a complete, dignified silence or else revealing her version of the truth and allowing Paul to reveal his. The sniping and accusations and refusal to name names but willingness to insinuate all sorts... it's playground behaviour. I'm glad he had his say, whatever the actual truth of the situation is.

njs030

I'd wonder now how much of the telling her followers about her hair was about wanting to be honest and how much was to keep the relationship going.
Maybe he didn't like the lies and manipulation either and that was her concession and also a way to lean on him after being vulnerable.

blairbear

I think a very genuine mea culpa style apology would go a long way. People have turned around far, far worse situations. Celebrities have been caught taking drugs very publicly, shoplifting, with prostitutes, cheating on spouses etc. Very high profile individuals. With the right approach, they managed to claw back their public image.

She needs to say she was devastated post-break up, that she acted out, that she wanted Paul to feel as bad as her etc. And apologise. Say "I did the wrong thing. I need to get help to cope with this and make some major changes."

She also needs to address the editing. The right approach to that could also make her a far more sympathetic figure. Everyone rallied round her when she spoke about her hair loss. Her followers aren't out gunning for her blood, bar a small, vitriolic cohort that will exist for any blogger/influencer.

njs030

blairbear wrote: »

I think a very genuine mea culpa style apology would go a long way. People have turned around far, far worse situations. Celebrities have been caught taking drugs very publicly, shoplifting, with prostitutes, cheating on spouses etc. Very high profile individuals. With the right approach, they managed to claw back their public image.

She needs to say she was devastated post-break up, that she acted out, that she wanted Paul to feel as bad as her etc. And apologise. Say "I did the wrong thing. I need to get help to cope with this and make some major changes."

She also needs to address the editing. The right approach to that could also make her a far more sympathetic figure. Everyone rallied round her when she spoke about her hair loss. Her followers aren't out gunning for her blood, bar a small, vitriolic cohort that will exist for any blogger/influencer.

More than saying it though she needs to actually do it.
There's been too many times with her people have believed in her, like with her hair loss, like when she moved home and everyone was sympathetic and believed something terrible had happened.

Implying someone has abused you and then apologising and saying 'I acted out I wanted him to suffer' doesnt cut it tbh. She tried to ruin someone's reputation and life, an apology won't make that OK.
She needs help and until she gets that help she won't change.

blairbear

I agree. Which is why I said that she should say she needs help. I meant that she should say she needs help and actually get it!

That statement is what I would do today, in the short term, to weather the storm. She can't post unicorns and fairy lights all day. Though of course, she might.

Joanne and I are pretty much the same age. Implying that a lad who dumped me was emotionally abusive is just so far out of left field of normal, especially now we're in our thirties. Break ups shouldn't stop your world from turning after a ten month relationship. She reminds me of my teenage self when I got dumped! You just get on with things at this stage. Rock up to work regardless. Keep your business to yourself. Be professional.

She needs to address why she reacts like this, and her intractable need to involve strangers in her private life.

njs030

blairbear wrote: »

I agree. Which is why I said that she should say she needs help. I meant that she should say she needs help and actually get it!

That statement is what I would do today, in the short term, to weather the storm. She can't post unicorns and fairy lights all day. Though of course, she might.

Joanne and I are pretty much the same age. Implying that a lad who dumped me was emotionally abusive is just so far out of left field of normal, especially now we're in our thirties. Break ups shouldn't stop your world from turning after a ten month relationship. She reminds me of my teenage self when I got dumped! You just get on with things at this stage. Rock up to work regardless. Keep your business to yourself. Be professional.

She needs to address why she reacts like this, and her intractable need to involve strangers in her private life.

You're right blairbear but from the way she's acted so far today it seems she's planning on ignoring it.

Aside from social media or her job I hope she gets help because she needs it.
The post the other day (was it you?) really made me see the other side of how much she must struggle and I do feel so much empathy for her but she can't drag other people down with her as she tried to do to Paul.

Sittingpretty

Doubt she'll entertain addressing it. She'll allow her minions to do that for her.

She's already on Inst posting an airport pic of her ridiculously expensive bags and a glass of champagne.

Things won't make her happy.

She needs real friends at this point to tell her she's acting the knob jockey to power down and reboot.

blairbear

notjustsweet wrote: »

You're right blairbear but from the way she's acted so far today it seems she's planning on ignoring it.

Aside from social media or her job I hope she gets help because she needs it.
The post the other day (was it you?) really made me see the other side of how much she must struggle and I do feel so much empathy for her but she can't drag other people down with her as she tried to do to Paul.

I posted last night detailing how body image issues or disordered eating can affect your mental state, particularly on social media etc, but there is no excuse for inflicting your issues on other people. I think we all have a duty as adults to minimise the extent that our personal demons impact on those around us. We can't just lash out blindly whenever we feel bad.

Today Joanne is positioning her LV bag beside her Chanel wallet, with a glass of champagne in between. Showing off the fruits of her mindless consumerism while crying financial strain; the mind BOGGLES.

njs030

blairbear wrote: »

I posted last night detailing how body image issues or disordered eating can affect your mental state, particularly on social media etc, but there is no excuse for inflicting your issues on other people. I think we all have a duty as adults to minimise the extent that our personal demons impact on those around us. We can't just lash out blindly whenever we feel bad.

Today Joanne is positioning her LV bag beside her Chanel wallet, with a glass of champagne in between. Showing off the fruits of her mindless consumerism while crying financial strain; the mind BOGGLES.

Yes that was a fantastic post.

She's doing her usual head in the sand act, I don't see how she can come back from this week tbh.

LizT

The drama of it all! I’m glad Paul has given his side of the story, he was dealing with it in a very dignified way but I suppose when your ex keeps alluding to things and basically slandering you, you have to stand up for yourself.
It will be interesting to see how MUF will respond or if she’ll just ignore it completely. I think if she had stayed quiet or told the truth, people would have much more sympathy for her. It must be tough to deal with a break up so out of the blue.

But the way she chose to deal with it - letting people assume there was domestic abuse or something similar is just disgusting.

Bambi985

Miles of entertainment in the comments under that bull****callerouter instagram post about being blocked by an influencer. Sosueme and MUF seem to be the worst offenders, blocking people for simply asking innocent questions about product ingredients or for 'liking' a post that another commenter made etc...

It's so mental how many hours of the day they seem to devote to making sure any criticism or negativity or non-gushing followers remain hidden from sight! Like that's got to be the trait of a narcissistic personality surely. Imagine if Tesco's or Aer Lingus or any other brand started doing that on their social media channels?? There'd be blue murder!

Stheno

Muf posted another heavily filtered pic of her out for her birthday on Instagram earlier