Initially scheduled for the second part of Thursday evening, the report devoted to Complément d’Enquête influencers was moved to Sunday, on the same time slot. Indeed, the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II has saturated the media space, which can be understood. But, it is very likely that the editorial staff had not anticipated the sequence of events at all.
Streisand effect
To say that this report was highly anticipated is an understatement and the disappointment was great on Thursday when it was indicated that the report would be broadcast on Sunday evening, instead of Thursday. Never mind, Internet users had announced that they would be there. And if we trust the trending topics on Twitter world, they were. Two other events largely contributed to the success of this report.
Not all newsrooms can boast of having Booba as an ambassador or promotional agent. Apart from the music, the latter has literally gone to war against influencers, in particular against Magali Berdah, the main subject of the show. For months, the two entities have been waging a fierce war on social networks. The rapper qualifies Magali Berdah and other influencers with epithets found in a penal code, Magali Berdah and her influencers assert their good faith. The boss of the influencer agency is suing the rapper for cyberbullying.
To this was added another element, which all the dinosaurs of the Web know: Magali Berdah as well as other influencers appearing in the report, wished to have the documentary banned or modified. Streisand effect guaranteed: even those who are totally distant from the world of influencers wanted to watch the report, whether live or replay.
Fake on all floors
Is it necessary to try to hide it? The author of his lines confesses a sovereign contempt, which could almost be classified as a class contempt, for the influencers mentioned in the report. It was mostly about female influencers, although there were a few men here and there. Why ? Because the life shown isn’t real, the bodies aren’t real, the only thing that’s authentic is their IQs, which never exceed double digits.
Compassion decided to take RTT when an influencer explained that she had agreed to have injections done in a hotel room, that an influencer proudly announced that she did not pay taxes in France or that another made an indecent display of all the good received by brands. Why such rejection? Because everything is wrong. The big difference with professional models is that no one imagines that the model posing for a cosmetics brand is our friend. She is a professional model, who signed a contract to “lend” her face to a brand, for the duration of a campaign. She does not make us believe that she uses the products on a daily basis, she does not let us enter into her privacy, etc.
What is very unhealthy in the field of influencers is this proximity and for some, a form of paternalism. People who trust these influencers are looking for social connections, some form of recognition, membership in a club. Why not, after all, but the clubs are based on common interests: a sport, a literary and musical culture, an interest in politics, in technology. Bloggers have created communities and if some ended up half-heartedly admitting that they were sometimes paid by brands to promote this or that product, it didn’t necessarily go that far.
Distance and tendonitis
Let it be said and repeated: influencers are not virtual friends. For adults, who are over thirty and who have more or more intellectual jobs, it is very easy to state this. What about teenagers and young adults? Based on the number of subscribers, comments and successful sales in drop-shipping, it seems obvious that this distance does not exist.
It is often said that “digital natives” are more gifted with computers than their elders. It seems obvious that this is more and more false. Basic computer skills are not always present among the younger generations and obviously, the distance that must be established between us and the machine is not either. How to explain that individuals can buy, eyes closed, products, simply because they are recommended by a patched-up potiche? That they do not do preliminary research on the products? That they don’t compare the prices in the different brands?
The target of the report was clearly not teenagers and young adults, given the time slot, but rather thirties, forties and public authorities. Contrary to what Magali Berdah says in her interview in the red armchair, the legislation exists. It is not necessary to modify it, only to enforce it. Note in passing that this interview will remain in everyone’s memory and will probably be taught in all communication training courses as being exactly what not to do.
Stroke of genius
Let’s be objective: if we look at the universe of influencers, we don’t learn much. Raphaël Grably of BFM TV works regularly on this subject and often echoes certain practices. Nevertheless, the report has the merit of being concise and clear. We would have liked to see more, but recognize that it is a box. The ratings make you dizzy and something very rare: the channel has agreed to lift the geographical restriction on the replay, thus allowing Internet users from all over the world to discover this edition. We would have liked the restriction to be lifted for live, but let’s say that there are sad people who like to nitpick.
As if to prove that she is extremely poor in communication, Magali Berdah decided to speak the day after the broadcast of the report on Brut and to give a press conference on Wednesday morning, to denounce the actions of Booba. Consequence: Magali Berdah appears very regularly in trending topic on Twitter since Sunday.
Something quite rare in these columns, we will give you advice almost diametrically opposed to the editorial line: for certain products, buy in real recognized stores. In terms of cosmetics, trust the big brands, pharmacies and parapharmacies. Check to see if the brand has filed any patents. For beauty products (straightening irons, curling irons, massagers, etc.), never buy outside the big brands, even if the influencer Bidule gives you a promo code for this or that obscure site. When it comes to computing and electronics, you can rely on ZDNet.
“Scams, money and politics: the real business of influencers” is available for replay until October 12, 2022 on the France Télévisions website.