Keep scrolling for why influencers with a lot of kids are popping off.
How a company is trying to manufacture virality with roasted feta soup
In a new X thread by Rachel Karten, a social media consultant and author of the Link in Bio newsletter, she questions whether brands can manufacture virality after the rise of the apparently popular #RoastedFetaSoup.
Karten kicks off the thread pointing out that several influencers have recently shared videos making a viral feta and butternut squash soup. However, she and many other internet users claim the recipe hasn't popped up organically on their feeds.
“The other day someone alerted me to a bunch of influencers posting ‘the viral #RoastedFetaSoup’," Karten writes. “Weird. I am very online and hadn't heard of any viral Roasted Feta Soup? That’s because there isn’t one.”
She goes on to claim that Athenos Feta, a popular grocery store brand, has commissioned influencers to make the #RoastedFetaSoup seem like a thing.
After some digging, Karten claims the first post about the feta and butternut squash soup was a reel by @grilledcheesesocial — an influencer named MacKenzie Smith with over 400K Instagram followers. This post was also in partnership with Athenos Feta.
Karten suggests that the brand chose @grilledcheesesocial for authenticity, pointing to her previous success in popularising the tomato feta pasta in 2021.
Soon after MacKenzie’s video was posted, the likes of Emily Mariko and Rachel Mansfield started sharing the recipe — with their posts in partnership with Athenos Feta and their captions praising the allegedly “viral” recipe.
With few posts currently tagged with #RoastedFetaSoup, this recipe seems far from having a viral moment.
As for what this means for social media marketing, Karten highlights that although it was an "ambitious and interesting campaign concept," such dishonesty doesn't typically bode well for brands.
“I think consumers are smart enough to see through this tactic. Use paid influencers and creators to build on virality, not construct it,” she concludes.
Read the full story via X.
Matt Rife tried to impress the guys with his misogyny. It backfired
Speaking of virality, comedian Matt Rife is going viral for all the wrong reasons. The comedian, who skyrocketed to online fame on TikTok, is being criticised for an inappropriate joke in his recent Netflix special, Matt Rife: Natural Selection.
Since he started posting his comedy and crowd-work videos on TikTok, Matt has developed a female-dominated fan base (largely because he’s hot).
Though women supported Matt as his popularity grew, it appears he now harbours resentment towards them and how he has developed a reputation as a comedian who caters to an exclusively female audience.
He recently told Variety, “One thing that I wanted to tackle in this special was showing people that, like, despite what you think about me online, I don’t pander my career to women. I would argue this special is way more for guys.
He began his Netflix special with a misogynistic joke about a restaurant hostess with a black eye, alluding to domestic violence
“And my boy, who I was with, was like, ‘Yeah, I feel bad for her, man. I feel like they should put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face,’” Matt says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye.’”
Numerous influencers, including feminist creator Drew Afualo, have come forward to criticise Matt — with many internet users vowing to stop engaging with his content.
“I’m not f—ing surprised, not even a little bit. You’re telling me a man who goes on other people’s podcasts and openly objectifies and criticises women’s bodies is misogynistic? Yeah no sh—t,” Drew begins. “What I do find interesting is admitting that you were purposely trying to alienate your female fanbase…”
Matt later doubled down on his “joke.” Instead of apologising, he shared an Instagram story with a link to a website selling helmets to protect against seizures, head trauma and head banging.
“If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told — here’s a link to my official apology,” he added to the story.
Read the full piece via Glamour.
The Pokimane & the Myna Snacks cookie controversy
Pokimane—whose real name is Imane Anys— has also been a victim of online misogyny this week. The Twitch streamer is currently facing an unprecedented level of backlash after the launch of her latest venture, Myna Snacks.
Billed as a “quality” and “feel-good” snack brand, Myna Snacks officially launched its first product earlier this month: the “Midnight Mini Cookies.”
The Midnight Mini Cookies are priced at around $7 per bag, where customers can purchase them in packs of four, eight, or twelve bags. Many have criticised the streamer for the price point, claiming the cookies are too expensive.
X users like @Atelisi noted that the cookies seem similar to a cheaper product already circulated by Creations Foods— a food manufacturer in the United States specialising in healthier snacks.
Pokimane later confirmed that Myna Snacks worked with Creations Foods during production; however, she assures her followers that the Midnight cookies from Myna Snacks are an original formula.
Just as the controversy seemed to come to a close, Pokimane ridiculed her “broke” fans for complaining about the cost of the cookies in a Twitch stream.
“When people are like ‘oh my god, $28 for cookies’. It’s four bags, that’s $7 per bag.” she said. “I know, I know math is hard when you’re an idiot. But, if you’re a broke boy, just say so.”
Many internet users were disappointed with her response, calling her “out-of-touch” and “smug.”
Meanwhile, others have questioned the level of criticism against Pokimane, claiming that it is disproportionate to her male counterparts in the streaming world.
Female streamers have long faced frightening amounts of misogyny online, with many being hate “raided” and experiencing sexual harassment during streams.
Pokimane experienced an onslaught of misogynistic attacks in 2022 after being temporarily banned on Twitch and being “raided” by another streamer.
She was also the victim of deepfake porn alongside other female streamers. The images and videos were revealed when a male streamer accidentally exposed them on his internet browser during a live stream.
Read the full story via Centennial World.
Why influencers with 7, 8, or 10 kids are having a moment
A new piece by Anna North for Vox explores the internet's fascination with family vloggers — specifically, families with a lot of kids.
North begins by noting that although big-family influencers are a recent trend, pop culture has always been fascinated by large families— pointing to movies like The Sound of Music and reality TV shows like 17 Kids and Counting.
On TikTok, the hashtag #bigfamily accumulated 2.7 billion views in the last year, while #largefamily received 1.1 billion.
The rise of big-family influencers coincides with a decrease in the overall birthrate, along with the emergence of tradwife influencers (many of whom are weary of mainstream medicine like birth control).
“People are always fascinated by anyone who is countercultural,” writer Laura Vanderkam tells North. “We’re definitely at a moment of small families.”
That being said, in a time where many parents are struggling to support and protect their children, big-family influencers are often comforting.
“These influencers can also project a kind of calm and satisfaction that can feel seductive in a frightening and confusing world.” North writes. “They appear to thrive despite the many forces that threaten to pull American families under.”
Yet, North also points out that these creators can "promote an exclusionary view of parenting," where big white family influencers receive praise while historically, large black families have been depicted as "irresponsible."
“The valorization of large white families, and especially those led by stay-at-home mothers, also has historical ties to white supremacy… some tradwives have urged other women to have lots of children specifically to perpetuate whiteness,” she writes.
All that to say, the popularity of these big-family influencers implies that internet users engage with this content to foster camaraderie, with these creators showcasing “the often invisible labour of having a family… and make it appear joyful and beautiful.”
Read the full piece via Vox.
Trisha Paytas is pregnant with a second baby one year after welcoming daughter
On the topic of families, Trisha Paytas has revealed that she and her husband, Moses Hacmon, are expecting a second baby in May 2024.
Trisha shared the news via Instagram and YouTube livestream for her podcast, Just Trish.
The announcement comes just over a year after Trisha and Moses welcomed their first daughter, Malibu Barbie, in September 2022.
In the podcast episode, she surprised her co-host, Oscar Gracey, with the news and shared that she was 13 weeks pregnant at the time of recording.
Trisha also revealed that she and Moses have chosen the name Elvis for the baby.
“That's our name… that is our name, whether it's a boy or girl, it's Elvis,” Trisha says.
She continued by opening up about her struggles trying to conceive, noting that she and Moses had been "trying for so long" to have another child.
This is not the first time Trisha has discussed infertility. In a 2016 video titled ‘WHY I CAN’T HAVE CHILDREN STORYTIME‘, Trisha shared that she contracted chlamydia twice. As a result, she developed pelvic inflammatory disease, making it challenging to conceive naturally.
Fans have flooded Trisha’s comment sections with excitement, while others have been joking that members of the British Royal Family should be concerned.
Last year, Trisha went viral after she tweeted that her cervix was 1cm dilated, indicating that she might go into active labour soon. Hours after Trisha’s tweet, the Palace released a statement that Queen Elizabeth II was in poor health.
This led to widespread (and slightly insane) speculation that the Queen will be reincarnated as Trisha’s baby.
Read the full story via Centennial World.