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Unlike influencers who are influential on social media who make money from commercial promotions, so-called "de-influencers" who give naked and harsh evaluations of overvalued products are gaining popularity.

The US daily Washington Post (WP) published an article on the 24th local time introducing the so-called "de-influencer" that has recently emerged, saying, "Convincing people not to buy things is a new trend on TikTok these days."

In January, Alyssa Cromelis of Dallas, Texas, USA, turned on the TikTok app on her smartphone when she came across a video in which a TikToker criticized a product that she described as "overrated by paid influencers."

"This cosmetic product is good, but some of them cost only $1 (about 9,1 won) for almost the same ingredients."

Inspired by this, Chromelis began making videos of herself evaluating expensive hair, skincare and makeup products without filtering, and since her first post, it has gone viral, garnering more than 2,80 likes and nearly 4.550 million views.

De-influencer is a concept created in reaction to the behavior of "influencers," which refers to content creators who have a lot of influence on social media.

Influencers often use their awareness to make money from commercial promotion, leading to growing criticism that content is less authentic and only encourages overconsumption.

Brendan Gehan, chief social media officer at the ancient event "Mechanism," quipped, "It's a reaction to too many products promoted by influencers."

It is pointed out that TikTok posts are flooded with the hashtag "#틱톡 report and buy" (#tiktokmademebuyit).



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D-influencers, on the other hand, are attracting followers with their honest yet emphatic reviews of "don't buy lousy things," and even product brands are paying attention to their "anti-influence."

Experts analyzed that the volume of marketing using influencers has passed an inflection point after peaking at a total of 164.21 billion dollars and about 6.5 trillion won last year, and people's consumption patterns are also changing due to the recent pressure of high prices.

Ronald Goodstein, a professor at Georgetown University, explained that "negative information feels credible" and that "while influencers have been influential lately, influencers' influence has been decreasing."

Recently, the newspaper said, the marketing industry has begun to pay attention to the influencers, to the point that Chromellis also posted an ad for a perfume company.

However, the article said, advertisers are much more careful and picky because if they randomly print ad content, as influencers do, trust and reputation can be destroyed in an instant.

Heidi Kaluja, who creates fashion content and has 27,8 followers, has partnered with a company that makes recyclable clothing, and Jess Clifton, who has nearly <>,<> followers, is marketing social activism, including working with nonprofits to promote climate-related legislation.

Commenting on the phenomenon of de-influencers, Kaluza said, "Consumers' needs and desires are changing," and "creators seem to be more purposeful when they connect audiences with monetization."