Virtual Social Media Influencers Are Posing As Humans
, assistant professor of communications in the Newhouse School, was quoted in the CNN story “â€
Grygiel, an expert in social media, agrees with the idea of influencers revealing if they are real or not. Grygiel says, “It’s not obvious she’s [ Miquela, a robot, a part of an emerging group of ‘fake’ virtual influencers] a [CGI, computer-generated image], and it’s not obvious on the post level.” Prof. Grygiel says the concept is “deeply problematic.”
As a child, Grygiel explains, “…at least we knew Barbie was a doll.” Grygiel says there could be people who thought Miquela was a real person. “We need the brands to disclose. We also need these companies to help so they’re not facilitating and participating in this mass deception.”