new internet analysis!! let's explore those sketchy ads promoted under viral tweets! TIME STAMPS BELOW: 0:00 - intro 6:56 - why do companies promote their products this way? 8:32 - false product endorsements 9:28 - monetizing stolen tweets 10:02 - what's up with the products?? knockoffs mostly 11:46 - what about the companies? drop shippers mostly 16:51 - how much do these sellers actually earn? 18:35 - are the influencers being paid fairly? 20:31 - (content warning: diet culture & fatphobia) the infamous "Sarah's Discovery" scam 24:07 - small channel shout out: Aime Maggie! 24:41 - small channel shout out: Mary McGillivray!
THANK YOU this has been driving me INSANE. It’s so weird how in some ways twitter can just be so lawless and all the stolen content/non disclosed ads make it unbearable
I saw a meme and it was the tweet from the royal family saying prince Phillip died and then someone edited the “LADIES, try this out” vibrator ad under the tweet lmaooooo.
@The left is evil scum Oh hi obvious exaggerated troll parody account that signed up two weeks ago and has done nothing but spout transparently stereotypical Right Winger Crowd Member #3 lines, how is your stash of lulz doing today and have you had any luck with your search for an actual life?
@The left is evil scum 1. Not liberal, actually pretty ancappy but aligned with some pieces of both wings, fed up with many liberals' crap lately even more than I am with most conservatives. Cute try though. 2. I'm very protective of people's prerogative to disagree with me or with anyone on any issue and still have it acknowledged that they can truly have valid reasons no matter their stance (I value people's reasoning way more than conclusions), so I haaaaate the egregious overuse of the word "troll" slapped on as a dismissive label for "anyone who says something I don't like". So I'm with you on that being boomer crap lol, and I'd defend you against such use of it by others if I thought you were actually commenting in good faith. Nah, you're a troll because you're really really really really obviously a troll, in the classic specific sense of someone who is a. claiming beliefs you either don't actually have or intentionally exaggerating ones you do, and b. doing it for the purpose of baiting others to get a reaction, whether that's to make a meta point by use of/example of those reactions or just for teh lulz or (typically) a mix of both. If you want to be believable and have anyone think you're actually a cranky right-winger who's trying to make points not incite reactions, then ya gotta put some nuance in ya game. Use a normal display name, don't make every single comment consistently about Look I'm So Right Wing, build a little more dimension for your character. The trick is to ride riiiiiight on that fine Poe's Law line. I give it about a 1% chance that you're actually a cranky conservative with nothing better to do, and if that's the case, then hopefully having it pointed out to you that you're acting like an exaggerated parody of an extremist helps you realize that there's a reason nobody takes you seriously and it would help to scale back your vehemence if you want people to actually regard what you're saying as good faith honest arguments. But yeah nah 99% certain you're acting to play sociopolitical games for either lulz or pointmaking or likely both. You've got potential, just gotta tone down the tryhardery a bit and you'll get people biting a lot more effectively. Think of it like fishing and only teasing the bait a little bit so that bit of motion draws attention (I'm pretty sure the modern use of the word "trolling" derives from its use in fishing, incidentally! Related to "trawling" kinda iirc, been a while since I researched that) whereas your current style is a lot more like sticking the whole pole in the water and flailing it around. You're scaring fish away that way. But you can improve, just keep practicing and you'll develop a feel for it. :)
@The left is evil scum (That's not saccharine condescension btw, at the end there. I sincerely think that good clever trolling, by the definition I gave above for it, is often a constructive and important part of social discourse and frequently serves as a great test to help people -- particularly the most emotion-based irrational intellectually lazy extremists in any group -- be forced to confront their own sensitivities and weaknesses in their own positions. And those extremists, regardless of the group they're in, drive me nuts, because they always sabotage the work toward the GOOD ideas from each side. Please, if provoking the most reactive and intellectually insecure of liberals is fun for you, I hope you do it and do it well. I'm legitimately all for you getting un-crappy at this.)
this reminds me of those tumblr threads that were actually pretty convincing bc they’d start off with someone just being like “look at this cool thing” w/ no link and then a BUNCH of reblogs like “where tf did you get that 😳” until some ✨hero✨ of tumblr is like “GUYS i found it” and THEN a bunch more reblogs like “y’all- i bought this and haven’t stopped using it since” and anyways you eventually see enough to know it’s an ad but with so many different accounts involved i always wondered how they’d do it
it’s come full circle because i’ve seen people screenshotting those type of threads and then posting them to instagram AS THE AD. like the ad is the screenshot of the tumblr “ad post” we live in a boring dystopia.
Tbh I don't think they are ads. Why would a company pay people on Tumblr? You don't see a follower count on Tumblr so they have no way of knowing who would have enough reach to be worth the money. It's also super hard/basically impossible to predict which posts will actually get a lot of posts. (Also Tumblr has way less users than other social media sites why pump money into promotion there?) I'm not saying there isn't *any* paid promotion going on on Tumblr (for example there are some blog that exclusively promote Etsy shops) but I don't think it's the same as it's done on Twitter/Instagram. I know we're currently used to all this stuff but I like to believe that just sometimes people can get excited over cute stuff without being paid (and it's pretty easy to find products by yourself via keyword or google image search).
I genuinely hate those weight loss tweets bc it’s one thing to promote sex toys and peel off masks but it’s another to promote unhealthy weight loss and promote laxative drinks
it's preying on the insecurities of teens and adults on Twitter with fake images and lies, really gross. i understand the concept of just letting people get their sponsorships and moving on, but i cannot understand how some people can be so morally bankrupt by perpetuating such harmful things without asking themselves if they're doing something wrong (though some of the tweets these are on are stolen, which can prove they are more willing to do shady things.) i've even called the tweets out and have had my replies hidden by the OP lmao
The thing that bothers me the most about these ads is them being used as “solutions” to mental health problems. Like the tweet that says “ my mental health is dependent on me buying the sunset light” or the reversible squid being the indicator for your girlfriend’s mood...
It may not be a straight up solution, but they're definitely a good coping mechanism. If someone is a neurotypical of course these items might seem a bit weird or useless, but the octopus plushie has literally been a life saver for my girlfriend. She is autistic and bipolar, and it was very hard for her to communicate her feelings before she got it. It also helped her understand her own feelings too. I think it actually saved her life, something that used to lead to a suicide attempt can now be de-escalated with the plushie because it's a good way for her to calm down and be mindful of her mental state. I think the advertisements are a scam though, those plushies are actually from aliexpress for $5.
@@ahuman5772 I don’t consider retail therapy to be a good coping mechanism. I’m not neurotypical myself, and I’ve found ways to communicate my feelings without buying a bunch of stuff online. But I am glad that the plushy has helped your girlfriend so much, comfort items are definitely a big help for those of us that are neurodivergent.
@@GravityFallsUp I don't see where you're getting the message from the other commenter that they're saying retail therapy is a coping mechanism. They're talking about the specific purpose the specific tool serves, which also is clearly more than a comfort item, as well. It seems to me that you're kinda extrapolating an implication that's not there. I appreciate that you're neurodivergent too and all that, and ditto, but there's something ableist-flavored about the language of "I've found ways of communicating my feelings without buying a bunch of stuff online". They never implied that the act of buying tools online (nor that they were even sharing about more than one to begin with) was the actual thing with therapeutic value. And a tool is not necessarily a "coping mechanism" anyway, that's a kinda negatively connotated overly reductive term that doesn't accurately encompass therapeutic tools (although yeah I know they used the term first, I still think it's a bit too narrow for the application here). Buying something online is just a vehicle for getting things and is as neutral as any other vehicle or medium. It has no bearing on the value of the things sourced via it, same way as any communication medium has no bearing on the legitimacy of the message communicated via it. Buying stuff online doesn't automatically make a purchase a retail therapy action. People have myriad reasons for avoiding or being unable to shop IRL. A stuffie toy isn't less valid an incidental unusual therapy device because it was found online instead of in a store. My warberger brushing protocol brushes from Amazon aren't any less valid a tool because I bought them online, nor are they any more valid a tool for me than the stuffie octopus is for the person using it just because my brushes come with a sciencey name and protocol attached. So yeah, your comment just comes across to me as being pretty judgmental, even the "I'm glad that (also reductive thing) though" part. I like your intentions but I think you're operating on some flawed assumptions and it shows in your language. Let people benefit from stuff 🤷♂️ I just don't see a real logical reason for your critical reaction to that anecdote.
To the OP comment, yeah, I think that part is a weird mixed bag. On the one hand if something does serve a therapeutic value to some people, that's cool and it makes sense to market on it as long as the language is sensitive and accurate. On the other, use of that inflated marketing angle can really can dilute the perception of what a legitimate tool for mental health or other disability support can be. Then that contributes to people misunderstanding the actual importance to others of those types of intentional tools. I loathe how many comments on the IG ads for those texture strips basically boil down to "this is like soooooo stupid, it's not relevant to how my body or mind work and I'm the only main character in the world and everyone else are NPCs based on me so clearly it's stuuupiiiddddd". I wish people at large could just realize that none of us is always the target for every possible tool or trick or idea or message, because the world doesn't revolve around anyone. Then it'd be a lot easier to let people just feel perfectly valid in doing what works for them, without others feeling compelled to be like "Excuse me I just thought everyone needed to know I don't relate to this so I don't understand why it's taking up space in the world if it's not here for me".
God i HATE dropshipping. I used to shop on depop specifically for the purpose of buying secondhand so I don't purchase fast fashion. People would list items using photos that looked real and original but then I would get packages from zaful and aliexpress?? Realllllllyyy grinds my gears. It's so dishonest.
😂🤣 So true! As a history professional specializing in the 18th century, I can tell you-sometimes an Atlantic crossing would be completed sooner than it's taken me to receive some AliExpress packages.
The fact that these guys don’t even mind how shady and effed up this “business” is. Smh. They probably tell people they “run their own company” too. Blows my mind. Makes me sad.
Yeah and I hate how they call themselves entrepreneurs and say that they're "doing something no one else thought of". I can think of a lot of ways to scam people out of their money too, doesn't mean I'm going to do it.
My friends all order from shein I’m just like “how do you trust this?” “isn’t the quality terrible?” I’m always so confused on why people buy from them it’s so sketchy they pay hardly anything for the product to be made
My friends photo was used in a real sketchy ad put under a viral tweet that she never consented to or was talked to about. she just kinda saw herself under a viral tweet. she found the ad company and they didnt tell her much but they ended up paying her 50 bucks and taking it down lmfao
Ah it’s terrible! When photos are stolen for these things it’s nearly impossible to get them permanently removed. Glad your friend was able to though!!
I like that fact that you don't cover topics that are talked to death by other RU-vidrs. Literally the only commentary channel I can watch without feeling pandered to.
people are using the RU-vid polls now to advertise - I saw one that was like "how much have you spent on a mothers day gift?" and one of the options was "i haven't bought anything (check the top pinned comment for the perfect gift!)"
Whats the deal w the polls I don’t understand why I get them from channels im not subbed to or ever seen a single video from but they don’t say sponsored? Why are they on my home page 😭
@@galacticlouds155 Nah, I don't think it's a bot, I knew one when I see one (trust me, it's those accounts that says "my mom will give me x when you like on my video" or those porno types that give links to scammy sites). The question is why you're a dick to OP and to Tiffany, simply because OP congratulated Tiffany on getting engaged with Nathan?
Oh God, good job on making this, it needs to be talked about. There's also the instagram ones where they post a stolen uncredited tik tok on the first image, then the second image is an ad for a sketchy snapchat add on or something equally as dodgy
it’s always something like: “Anyone else can’t fall asleep at night? 😭😹 This app saved my life!! Link in bio 👻” with the unaligned white border and blurry text
@The left is evil scum 34 comments on Tiffany’s channel... Please do something productive with your life! You are not as cool and as edgy as you think you are!
Can you do a video on instagram meme ads? Some accounts will have a post with 9 swipe memes that are vaguely related and then on the last image, there's a "click the link in my bio to play this game!! You can make the characters do some freaky stuff" etc etc
MacDoesIt here on RU-vid actually did something very similar almost a year ago with mobile games from fake mobile ads! They’re pretty much all BS nonsense. He was a very hilarious trooper.
it always mentions something like “my gf likes to grow lil plants on her phone it’s cute :)” to downright ridiculousness like “this app cured my gf’s depression”
Keep seeing viral tweets like “I just know *insert product pictured* would fix all my problems/cure my depression” and I don’t know what possibility is more strange: the tweet being a disguised ad or someone saying that about a product
Wow I'm so shocked a middle man who dropships and shamelessly sells unethically sourced products for a measly $100 doesn't respect his fiance🙄 these "hustle culture" boys are insufferable.
I've seen some stuff about a Freelancers Union that exists, which is in a similar vein as content creators. Not sure how successful or effective it is, but it apparently exists.
I wish ethics and critical thinking were prioritized more in modern education. I feel like so many people don't even understand why this is wrong and don't do the critical thinking to understand how harmful it is overall.
As someone who uses twitter all the time cuz im in stan twt, my brain just automatically turn off these ads, i basically forget theyre under viral tweets cuz my fingers scroll faster past these than i could think. I'm surprised even after the same posts these still get a few likes.
I never would've thought someone could make a 25 minute video about this, but you've done it so carefully and meticulously, it's honestly so insightful. I always found ads like these annoying, but I never realized the depth of the ethical and legal issues they involve??? Wow.
actually there is a few RU-vidrs who are currently in the works of doing just that. if you have ever heard of the Slingshot Channel or JoergSprave, is in the process of working with Google/RU-vid on trying to get the ball rolling on a creators union. He is based in Germany but I'm pretty sure it is open to any and all content creators. the more the merrier
Hey friend, could you look at the trend of young (female) artists coming out with insight videos like Paris Hilton, Bhad Bhabie and Alyson Stoner? Another more fun topic would be escapist Woodland fairy channels like Joanna Jinton, Isabel Paige and Li Ziqui?
as somebody who hadn't ever gone on twitter until last month, the existence of ads underneath viral tweets was so unexpected to me. so so glad that u made this video!
It was a small component of this video, but I wanted to say thank you for blurring the fatphobic diet before and after selfies. I haven't seen anyone else blur whole bodies before like that, and wow that was really really beneficial to my viewing. Thank you for that. 💖
This reminds me of all the people I see selling $2-3 wish/aliexpress jewellery for $20-30 at markets around my hometown (which is popular for tourism) and saying they made it themselves 😂
why does no one talk about how pretty tiffany is like omg 😭 edit: her work is AMAZING, ty to every who pointed that out and ty tiffany for the amazing content 😊
OMG THE UNIONIZING OF CONTENT CREATORS! I was thinking about this so much lately, especially since it can be such a lonely industry. There is a lot of gatekeeping and most new creators just have to learn from their mistakes or hopefully make an honest friend in the industry to tell them the tea. Let the girlies know their WORTH!
I have the stupid reversible octopus but i bought it off ebay w an exact arrival date. It arrived in a week and its so cute Im not even gonna lie its lives on my bed rent free
Aliexpress is like Chinese amazon with ebay sketchyness. Alibaba is chinese wholesale website. Taobao is chinese centered amazon it's even cheaper than aliexpress. Unlike aliexpress it's not in english and you can only search in chinese i believe and you have to use a 3rd party company to ship to your house.
I remember seeing a similar marketing platform on tumblr and I typically ended up unfollowing blogs who posted ads like that because I'd end up seeing the same post on my timeline for the rest of the day
#ad is actually illegal to use in Sweden as an identification in social media ads, the influencer must use ”in paid collaboration” or ”advertisment” in the beginning of the post :) not everyone follow this though wich results in fines or a warning (in public verdicts), kind of embarrassing when it comes from the major influencers who can’t do their job correctly :/
Literally had a tweet go viral the other week and nobody reached out to me to sell any bs moon lights, I was so disappointed and then realized it's prob cause I had my DMs closed lmao smh
You're not only observant but you follow through with the topics you notice Tiffany! It's something I should develop, I notice some pattern or behavior but I always leave it at that, I don't study the phenomenon any further :')
me: doesn’t have twitter, has NO idea what you’re talking about also me: makes myself a bowl of popcorn and gets comfy, thumbs up the video 12 seconds in
I left twitter 7 years ago and It's so w i l d to me what it has become... I had no idea that half of this was even happening!! (except the many iterations of The Seal™ which I've seen on tumblr adds as well) As usual love the video, please keep giving me the inside scoop
(1) i was WAITING for you to give us your take on this, so glad my fave internet older sister is spitting knowledge (2) THAT DRESS WILL LIVE IN MY DREAMS YOU LOOK SO GOOD!!
im glad you made a video on this topic bc i haven't seen anybody else talk much about it. i made a video on it too in like december (much less well researched) so now i feel like i have a comrade
Lol, ironically, I tried to download Likewise w your code and it says it's not available in my country. You're one of the few, maybe three, content creators that I follow and appreciate so much that I would try your sponsored services as support (and cause you sold me on it), and this one time I was in the mood for it, it didn't let me XD
My wife fell for the wave runner scam, this thing was only $80 and was pretty much like a jet ski...luckily I knew if it’s too good to be true it’s probably not true so I had her cancel the payment. 9 months later that company ships us pool floaties. My wife almost paid $160 for two pool floaties.
the amount of twitter accounts I've blocked that post thirst traps and stolen tweets with "dm for promo" in their bios. it's SO ANNOYING. thank you for making this video !!
I was literally just thinking "is she gonna talk about that viral thread about the weight loss" and low and behold she started talking about, godsend your a godsend
i think these viral tweet ads are not that effective BUT i've seen a specific case for the blue/pink octopus plushie where the company made a whoooole account/mightve hired someone to use a backup account to make a whole thread promoting that plushie by saying her bf bought it so she can communicate her emotions without having to say anything and it was so believable AND EVERYONE KEPT SAYING THEY WANTED IT
thank you so much for making this vid! I'll admit I totally fell for the sunset lamp link and bought it and all they sent me was some bogus tracking link and emails trying to contact them bounce!! they're a total scam.
I deleted twitter for like 2 months bc i kept seeing the same stolen tweets about being an alfredhoe, the victoria secret “imagine going to jail for stealing 8 bras” and the “everyone on twitter deleted then came back!1!1!1!” tweets. twitter shouldnt cause such a visceral reaction
those octopus plushies oh my god. i’ve always seen this and thought oh that’s a bit weird and then moved on with my day but i had no idea how widespread it was
3 года назад
I always see your video titles and I'm like "what?? What even is there to say about that??" and then every single time I'm blown away by the questions you pose and the trails you pick up on and follow -- things I never even thought to question!! I'm learning to just click and trust your investigative and expository abilities lol Love the vids!!
Fact Fiend with Karl Smallwood is *super* open about what they get paid by any sponsors, how they distribute the revenue from adsense between editors, the dude on the screen, etc. They reject any and all sponsors that won't let them say out loud to their audience what they got paid. I honestly think more creators should follow their example.