The influencers with millions of followers who don't actually exist

[erronis]

https://phys.org/news/2026-03-millions-dont.html
Tommaso Durante, University of Melbourne

Liu Yexi is a virtual influencer who has collaborated with high-end brands, including Tesla. Credit: Liu Yexi/Weibo

Lil Miquela has 2.5 million Instagram followers, a high-fashion wardrobe, and a clear political voice. She has advocated for Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQI+ community, fronted major brand campaigns, and built a devoted global fanbase. She also has no pulse.

Lil Miquela is a virtual influencer, a computer-generated character designed to look, sound, and behave like a real person. And she is not alone.

In China, Liu Yexi blends traditional aesthetics with cyberpunk visuals to amass a huge following. Ling, created by Chinese AI startup Xmov, has promoted Tesla, Vogue, and luxury tea brand Nayuki.

. . .

The contrast between Lil Miquela and Liu Yexi is instructive.

Lil Miquela embodies a Western-centric aesthetic: sleek, cosmopolitan, and faintly unsettling in her near-human appearance. Liu Yexi draws on traditional Chinese cultural imagery. On the surface, they seem to represent very different visions of global identity.

But look closer and the differences dissolve.

. . .

[hlthe2b]

1. The biggest scourge to hit the internet (and yes I distinguish "Influencers" from actual "Experts"

If we don't rein this in at least somewhat there is going to be real harm to the naive', the vulnerable (or in some cases, "gullible" )

[erronis]

2. I totally agree. This is not totally new but it is being fed to us via a fire hose.

Propaganda and marketing have been a scourge since most life started. But as we are deliberately being under-educated and fed pablum we no longer have the skills to question the messages or the motives for the messages.

[JI7]

8. It's the "modern" version of reality tv stars

[Scrivener7]

3. I remember when we didn't call them "influencers." We called them "advertisements."

[OC375]

4. I remember when we called them needy exhibitionists and blowhards.

[RainCaster]

5. Spammers and scammers

Call it what it is.

[blogslug]

6. There's discount versions of this that try to follow me on Bluesky

Their profile pics are of youthful, ambiguously Asian women with a book covering their face or their back turned to the camera, playing golf. They re-post a few lefty accounts and then post one photo of a fancy hotel lobby or bundle of shopping bags from a high-end store.

The most bot-followers I get though are of the silver fox variety: Older, tanned white men who are almost always on a boat. Those accounts aren't usually political and are, instead, dog lovers, who profess kindness & platitudes. When I look at who they're following, it's always a string of female-presenting accounts.

A really good person to follow is Conspirador Norteño, who keeps track of bot networks and other inauthentic social media behavior. His website is here: https://www.conspirator0.com/

[erronis]

7. Thanks for the link to Conspirador Norteo - I'll check it out.

I am lucky in that I am not active on most social networks. Had a fb account when it first started and realized that it was trash. Same for twitter, linkedin.

Nobody follows me anywhere and I get 1-2 spam emails per month, almost no phone ones. Not sure what I'm doing right, or perhaps everyone figured out I'm not worth it.

And huge kudos to DU and the MIRT team for keeping this site mainly clean and friendly!

[Kid Berwyn]

9. Shills.

Phonies pretending to be neutral observers placed among the civilians to promote the efficacy of the snake oil. For example, crypto.