A California hiker was finishing a long and arduous trek when she spotted an influencer pretending to have done the same in order to impress her internet following. Needless to say, the real hiker wasn’t impressed.
TikTok user Megan (@meganschumer) posted the video earlier in the week. In it, she sits inside her car decked out in her hiking attire. “The cringiest thing I’ve witnessed lately,” she writes in the caption.
“She pulls up in a Tesla as I’m finishing my run. She sets up a tripod at the trailhead, as if she was finishing,” she says. “Did a little ‘Get ready with me. Let’s go hike.’ And then she left. I’m floored. And then here I am. I just did 10 miles and 3,400 feet of climbing. If you’re going to be a pretender, at least look like you’re doing some work.”
Viewers React To The California Influencer’s Trail Video
In the comments, viewers argued about whether Megan is right to be annoyed with this influencer’s behavior.
Some viewers said this is business as usual. “She’s doing an ad, bro,” wrote one person. “Let people work.”
“So she was minding her own business?” said a second viewer.
Another viewer who claimed to work in marketing said, “If she is showing up online fully pretending, I get the judgement 100 percent. I dislike posers. But some content creators may just be filming a small bit for a paid job for a brand. For example, she could be getting paid like $500 for a 30-second video in activewear and the brand may have requested an outdoor setting. So she could just be doing a job, not making her own personal content. Who knows!”
Other viewers couldn’t believe that anyone would defend what they view as misleading content. “These comments,” wrote one person. “I didn’t expect people to defend this influencer. I feel like I’m living in a twilight zone daily.”
“She’ll influence someone else to buy shoes that aren’t appropriate for the trail and set them up for horrible blisters,” predicted another person.
Do Influencers Really Fake Everything They Do?
Research shows that Instagram influencers are a steady source of viral misinformation on a variety of subjects. And their popularity, allowing them to sell products and services to their audience, is a key part of that dynamic.
At this point, skepticism of influencer content has spawned its own influencer content. Hannah Alonzo, for example, reached 3.5 million views on part 16 of her “Influencer Insanity” series, where she calls out influencers who, in her opinion, are “being fake.”
In the comments section of that video, a commenter said, “I am a middle school teacher, and have been using clips from your videos to help teach my kids social media literacy. It’s so helpful for them to see how to use critical thinking when consuming TikTok.”
@meganschumer The cringiest thing I’ve witnessed lately lol #influencers #running #trailrunning
BroBible contacted Megan via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.