Fake news has been around for decades. These days you can look up articles about anything, but we don’t know what percentage of it is fake or real. Some news outlets want you to believe what they tell you whether it’s fake or not, then use the view count they get to advertise how many people read the article.
Influencers use the same tactics to attract people to them and follow them. They would say something that will turn heads then the next day they will be everywhere across the internet.
Influencers change their life to create or follow trends to make them popular or just to get more exposure. Not all influencers are bad , but what makes them blow up the way they do? If you take Charli D’melio, a Tik Tok sensation who blew up for her dance videos, she got into controversy back in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter movement. “She used the organization to gain more followers and even went to change her profile photo on the platform to the movement’s symbol.” (Aubrielle Severini, 10) Even after the movement’s hype died down, she didn’t want to change her profile photo after two years of having it up because she didn’t want to be seen as racist. She is one of the few influential people who have surrounded themselves in controversy, but what happens when we mix in advertisements and news is over exaggerated?
Complicating the situation further, ever since the internet was born and we’ve been able to share our lives on social media, people have made stuff up everywhere all across the internet. Most news sources and influencers glorify or use fake news to grow their brand.
People believed that Jesus was coming back. This internet controversy was called “The Rapture”. This started in South Africa in September of 2025, the new spread like wild fire and people were throwing out their belongings claiming that the lord would bring it all back. After the news was proven to be fake and the person that started this apologized for all the trouble he caused.
“The news of the lord coming back was so bad people were not only throwing out their stuff, but claiming He will take care of us and some even quit their jobs.” (Joshua Finney, 10) What caused this influencer to do this is unclear because of their actions, people are suffering now without a way to keep them afloat.
To fix this problem overall, we have to start from the source: the influencers. Just because you are famous and have a huge following does not give people the right to turn their audience against something or believe something that isn’t real.
Doing our research when something pops up as controversial or problematic is a good way to know the truth and the facts of the issue. You may never know what the truth is till all your points are answered.
