Influencers
A successful businessman once told me he made a decision early on in
his career, to choose between having power or having influence. He chose the
latter, as it had a longer shelf life.
Influence is not as overt as control, it is not as detached
as inspiring others. Influence works subconsciously. It can be the result of a deliberate policy
to direct people to make certain choices or buy particular products, or it can
be unintentional, influencing others by one’s own lifestyle, such as parents or
a role model may do. Influencers have the power to create change without
necessarily taking direct action.
As soon as humans settled into larger social groups, there must
have been individuals who could sway the community to, for instance, go to war
or migrate. As civilizations and nations grew, it became even more important to
create consensus and obedience through formulating laws or religious doctrine.
Where there is a system, there are inevitably those that challenge the system
by promising alternatives – Prester John, Abdullah bin Saba, Robin Hood or Che
Guevara, with the legend having greater importance than the reality.
What books get published, what editors place as headline
news, which films get funding, which popstars are signed on by record labels,
what is included in educational curricula, or the alternate list of what gets
suppressed, is presented as market driven, but is also a subtle shepherding towards
preferred societal values and aspirations.
But people don’t always comply. In 1863, a large group of
artists had their work rejected by the official Paris Salon exhibition. Undaunted,
the rejected artists displayed their work the following year in an exhibition
called the Salon des Refuses and became hugely popular as the Impressionists. It
set in motion the acceptance of experimentation in art.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing in the Wind’. John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, and Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s
Christmas?’ influenced anti-war sentiments and awakened social responsibility.
Charlie Chaplin championed the poor. Sultan Rahi spoke for downtrodden
villagers.
All these vigorously fought for milestones, are swept aside
by the new, and often confusing, phenomenon of digital “Influencers”. The first
celebrity endorsement was by Michael Jordan for Nike in 1984. But Influencers really
came into their own in the 21st century – with Blogs in 2004, and Instagram
microbloggers in 2010, now with over a billion users. Individuals with an idea to sell could reach
audiences without an intermediary.
Most influencers are motivated by the opportunity to earn
large sums of money. In Pakistan an influencer can earn 2 lakhs per post. Kylie
Jenner, with 138 million followers, charges a million dollars per post. Instagrammer,
Iraqi American, Huda Khattan, was named by Forbes as one of the richest
self-made women. Digital marketing companies like Vamp, established in 2015,
connect brands with social influencers. Influencers spawned thought leaders,
thinkfluencers, microinfluencers, and even nanoinfluencers.
Some influencers have had enormous positive impact such as Swedish
teenager,Greta Thunberger, who battles climate change. More controversially,
Qandeel Baloch may have inspired many Tik Tok creators. Were the thousands of
Jordanian civilians who marched to liberate Palestine in May this year,
inspired by Ertugrul Ghazi?
Inevitably the darker side of the power of influencers emerged
- manipulating voters, discrediting political opponents, spreading misinformation,
promoting fraud. Fact checking sites developed to counter false news. Most people forward posts without verifying their
authenticity, which is a concern when Kanye West has 4 million followers, and
Amitabh Bachan 44.8 million. This can
have serious consequences. A 2020
Harvard study has shown the connection between misinformation campaigns in
India and hate crimes against religious minorities. Was the 20 year old Nathaniel Veltman acting
under the spell of a digital influencer when he mowed down a Muslim family in
Canada?
We believe because we
want to believe, especially if the source is a peer group. We have a desperate
desire to trust people and social institutions. Digital platforms are here to
stay, and the majority are useful and informative. IT specialists are working on ways to weed
out fake news, but it is ultimately the responsibility of the user. Chess
champion Garry Kasparov warns us “The point of modern propaganda isn't only to
misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to
annihilate truth.”
Durriya Kazi
June 19, 2021
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