April 11, 2018
Honestly, we're really confused.
We’ve all heard of fake followers on Twitter and Instagram. The news is rife with reports of Russian bots, follower bots and basically anything bot you can think of. But now an entirely new breed of “fake” is emerging on social media and chances are you’ve already been fooled.
She has over 930k followers on Instagram and a shiny blue, “I’m verified” checkmark next to her name.
She’s also a Black Lives Matter activist, wearer of brands, and world traveler. She says things like “Basking” while sitting in the sun.
Lil Miquela is fake. As in not a real person. As in she’s a computer-generated image.
It’s unclear if her fans were aware of this. It seems like most people thought she was a real person, some suspected she was a bot, and when news broke she was, in fact, computer-generated her followers just seemed more confused.
As one commenter wrote, “Omg [not] to rude butt you kinda scare me you look so fake I’m sorry but it’s true.” While others responded, “Oml is she a real person wtf?”, “She’s a life-size doll” and “hair is fake” … but maybe not all of her?
See Miquela is so real looking, yet so fake, she actually fits right in on Instagram. So if you were fooled it’s not your fault. We are all fooled every day.
Lil Miquela is interesting though because it begs the question: DOES IT EVEN MATTER ANYMORE?
Instagram influencers spend their days taking 400 photos to post one shot. They’re using face-tune and ring lights, curating, editing, splicing, dicing and showing only their best selves, which by definition is a little fake. So perhaps this is simply a new era, the next iteration of famous, where the celebrities are actual computer-generated images and people become obsolete?
Our celebrities never were real people anyway, no matter how many times People Magazine showed them at the grocery store or working out (“They’re Just Like Us!”). Indeed, the famous have always been curated by agents, publicists, and managers. Sculpted by personal trainers, makeup artists and airbrushes — so is this any different?
Lastly, it’s unclear who is behind Miquela’s account, but clearly, a human is typing … right? She talks about writing letters to Congress on behalf of transgender rights, loving “Queer Eye”, and going to see “Black Panther” as if she’s hitting up an actual movie theatre.
I guess only time will tell.
