We love taking the piss out of influencers, because it’s just so darn easy.

A quick look at some of our recent posts:

• Please Enjoy An Irish Hotel Owner Tuning An Influencer Looking For Freebies
• Instagram Influencer Accused Of Lying To Her Followers With Fake Travel Images
• YES PLEASE: A #Movie That Takes The Piss Out Of The #Influencer #Culture [Trailer]
• Listen Up, Influencers: The Bubble Is About To Burst
• These Insiders Reckon That 80% Of South Africa’s Instagram Influencers Are Faking It

Yes, it works for some brands, and we’re happy for them, but the whole thing is unravelling at the seams.

Fake followers abound, and whilst actual influencers themselves can see right through that garbage, some marketing peeps are far slower on the uptake.

One might say that the poster child for cracking the influenza influencer game is Kim Kardashian, the OG, but now she’s under fire for punting a rather shady lollipop.

Over to the Daily Beast:

Kardashian posted one of her signature sultry photos with internet-breaking intent on her Instagram this week, featuring her sucking a lollipop. But it was no mere photo shoot. Kardashian was promoting Flat Tummy Co.’s latest product: appetite-suppressant lollipops.

Her caption read: “#ad You guys… @flattummyco just dropped a new product. They’re Appetite Suppressant Lollipops and they’re literally unreal. They’re giving the first 500 people on their website 15% OFF so if you want to get your hands on some… you need to do it quick! #suckit.”

The post has since been deleted, so here’s what you missed:

So she realised the product she was promoting was bollocks, and removed the post herself.

Nope, not true, because she kept on posting the image and Instagram kept deleting it, for which they have since apologised.

A little on those lollipops:

The “appetite suppressant” lollipops run 35 calories apiece and contain satiereal, turmeric, saffron, and a bunch of synthetic additives. “Supposedly, this combination of additives and saffron activates a neurotransmitter in your brain which controls and suppresses your appetite,” dietician Rachel Scoular told Mama Mia. “Let’s set the record straight, there’s not enough evidence to support the use of satiereal for appetite control. Looking more broader, even the use of saffron for weight loss isn’t clinically proven.”

“Keep in mind that these lollipops are considered supplements, which means they are not regulated as strictly as prescription medications and therefore can be both ineffective and potentially unsafe to consume,” dieticians Anna Debenham and Alex Parker added.

How’s your Friday going? It’s before noon and I have written about Yanny and Laurel again, and am currently busy looking through Kim K’s social media pages, so mine is off to a horrid start.

I don’t know what’s worse, influencers who punt this stuff or the people who take their cues from celebs and rush to buy diet lollies.

Oh, ja, in case you’re on board with them lollies then here’s the site to visit:

Public announcement – Kim’s husband Kanye thinks slavery was a choice.

Perhaps this isn’t the family to be taking advice from.

[source:dailybeast]