GOING TO ATTACK: Dalhaug thinks it is suspicious how many influencers suddenly appear with 100,000 followers. Photo: Private
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Love Island winner Morten Dalhaug believes he can prove that several influencers have bought Instagram followers. – We can not sit still and watch such serious accusations being made public without doing anything about it, the management responds to the accused.
Youtuber and Love Island winner Morten Dalhaug released a video on 16 August where the goal was to open the eyes of both the influencers’ followers and advertisers to what he believes is cheating in the influencer industry.
– I think this is a growing problem. Influencers with thousands of followers are constantly popping up, he says.
– Interior and mom accounts suddenly have 50,000-100,000 followers without having heard of them before, there is something to stumble upon.
Dalhaug believes that this shows that something is not right. Therefore, he has looked up the various profiles in the tool of Inzpire.me which aims to match influencers and advertisers.
In a YouTube video, Morten shows that he searches for various profiles, including Bloggers newcomers Monica and Chris Nyhus. The search shows that of Monica’s 117,000 followers, 24,000 are from Norway, while her husband Chris is apparently said to have 8,000 Norwegians among his 48,000 followers.
—SURPRISED: Dalhaug looks at the consequences for Bloggers profile Monica Nyhus. Photo: Screenshot YouTube
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– This has been purchased. This is the worst I have seen, Dalhaug claims in the video.
The general manager of Ad Sales, the management of the Nyhus couple, Caroline Kvamme responds to VG in an SMS that they view the accusations as very serious.
– Especially when you include words like “scam”. If you are going to accuse someone of this, you should keep the evidence and have done thorough research. This is a claim that is harmful to the brand of the accused, writes Kvamme.
Ad Sales explains how it can happen that large parts of the followers of some of their profiles are from countries other than Norway.
– As we explained Morten, these influencers have built up their channels for several years, and used the algorithms that have always worked with hashtags and the like. They have been shared by large international accounts, and this can easily be seen by browsing the feed to the profiles and under their tagged photos, Kvamme answers.
In the documentary below, you can see how easy it is to buy followers on Instagram and how many people actually use this.
Engages lawyer
VG has asked Dalhaug if it can not be the case that these profiles have foreign followers without having bought them.
– Of course they can, I even have some foreign followers myself. But when the majority are foreign, and Cairo and Istanbul are among the five cities you have the most followers from, then there is something gurgling, I mean.
Dalhaug says that the response from the followers has mostly been positive.
– Many people get an alarm clock, and that’s what I want with this. It is rather the influences I point to in the video that react.
The management of several of the profiles that are accused, Ad Sales, is said to have contacted Morten and asked him to delete the video.
– Then I think I hit a nerve, then. Had it been me who had been accused of something like that, and it was not true, I would have just gone out myself and said it was not true. But now I have even been contacted by a lawyer they have hired.
—ACCUSED: The new Bloggers profiles Monica and Chris Nyhus are accused of cheating. Photo: Screenshot Instagram
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– There is no evidence
– Yes, it is true that Morten has been contacted by our lawyer, says Kvamme.
– We can not sit still and watch such serious accusations being made publicly without doing anything about it. And let it be clear that I am then referring to accusations of buying followers and most of all that he refers to the influencers as swindlers.
Kvamme is aware that they completely agree with Dalhaug that it is very destructive for the industry if someone buys followers.
– The debate about buying followers is very important. The problem arises when Morten does not point out that there is no evidence for the allegations he makes. Then the discussion becomes very one-sided and it destroys the debate. The profiles we represent in the case have not gained followers.
In the video below you can see how it went when the Panelet editorial staff bought 50,000 followers.
– No basis for suspicion
Inspire. Me is a platform where influencers and advertisers can meet. In addition, collaboration can be reported and paid for on the site, which is used as a kind of CV for the influencers in retrospect. This is explained by the founder and general manager of Inzpire. Me, Mats Lyngstad to VG.
– The figures are taken from Instagram with approval from the profiles, says Lyngstad.
—Founder and general manager of Inzpire. Me, Mats Lyngstad. Photo: Kai Chen
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He believes that international followers are only proof of just that: that you have international followers.
– It can only be said to be one signal. Alone does not reveal whether you have bought followers. It must be seen in conjunction with other variables, he explains.
Lyngstad believes the focus on acquired followers and cheating is good.
– It has been a bigger problem before than it is now, but it still happens.
Inspire. We have even refused to allow 15 percent of their 23,000 registered users, due to suspicion of cheating.
– But we do not find a basis in the data to suspect the profiles Dalhaug points out for having bought followers. We try to exclude such things before they are allowed on the platform.
In addition to Monica and Chris Nyhus, Emma Ellingsen is also new to this year’s season of The Bloggers. In the video below you can see what she would never share on screen:
For the record. Inspire. Me is a partly Schibsted-owned company. VG is owned by Schibsted.
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