An Instagram creator has allegedly received a flurry of abuse regarding a recent branded post, with some messages containing death threats.
Scarlett Dixon, known as Scarlett London online, posted a seemingly harmless photograph of herself to her Instagram account. The post in question was part of an influencer marketing campaign in collaboration with Listerine.
Dixon's post was inoffensive, it featured herself sat in a decorated bedroom, having a cuppa and enjoying some pancakes.
However, her particular style of promotion attracted criticism online, with Twitter users calling Instagram a "ridiculous lie factory".
Fuck off this is anybody's normal morning.
— Nathan (@hintofsarcasm) August 31, 2018
Instagram is a ridiculous lie factory made to make us all feel inadequate. pic.twitter.com/arV7uCusiJ
Another Twitter user also implies that Listerine's campaign is designed to be a dig at influencer marketing.
Loving the hilarious parody accounts @Listerine have created to expose the sham that is irrelevant “influencer” marketing. That’s what they are doing, right? Because the alternative is... pic.twitter.com/Z6GC5wX03Z
— David - Brave & ❤️ (@DaveParkinson) September 2, 2018
Reality check
Dixon tweeted a statement on Sunday, highlighting that she'd had "hundreds of nasty messages" flood her Instagram, Twitter and YouTube accounts.
"My feed is not a place of reality," Dixon says in the post. "Sometimes my photos are whimsical and OTT and a little too pink, but I'm not presenting this as an 'idealistic' version of my life that young girls should aspire to."
Influencers are under a whole lot of scrutiny right now, with brands making moves to refine their influencer relations. Earlier this year, Unilever slapped a ban on creators buying followers as part of a crackdown on inauthentic marketing.
A recent study also revealed that 49 per cent of consumers in the UK are "fatigued" with repetitive influencer posts online, the type of "unrealistic" content that Dixon is being criticised for.
❤️ https://t.co/imIpw1I1Wx pic.twitter.com/uCBQOdBZWK
— Scarlett London (@Scarlett_London) September 2, 2018
