9 ms·

So much of the content I see now on TikTok and other apps is totally staged, and quite often poorly staged at that. It would be interesting to know who funds th

So much of the content I see now on TikTok and other apps is totally staged, and quite often poorly staged at that. It would be interesting to know who funds the production of many of the videos, because there's obviously an advertising scheme or some sort of moneymaking ploy behind a lot of it. I think things really took off with the people who were making "gold-digger" videos, where a guy tries to talk to a girl and she rejects him, only to come back when he walks up to a (most likely rented) exotic car. In many of these cases, all of the people involved in the video are not authentic, but there's never disclaimer that the video is staged or a skit. Even car accidents, sad stories of addiction and mental illness, and stunts can all be staged to gain views as well. I'm skeptical of everything I see online, been that way for a long time... Worst part is there is no real way to avoid that type of content, and that phony content often gets plastered across all the sites, and reposted for years too come, and even written about when it's exposed as fake, so there's no real way to avoid it, and there's no incentive for people to stop doing it because of the (negative) popularity it breeds for the people and companies that sponsor and create it.

hk1337 4y ago
At least if it's staged you know all the parties are in on it and it's not leaving someone "holding the bag".
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
btilly 4y ago
The staged stuff doesn't bother me as much as the dangerous stuff: https://www.fastcompany.com/90287323/people-are-falling-off-buildings-in-search-of-the-perfect-instagram-shot https://www.fastcompany.com/90287323/people-are-falling-off-...
- branon 4y ago
  Natural selection at work.
  - oasisbob 4y ago
    If you're implying social Darwinism being an expected natural consequence, you may want to research the history and abuses of the idea before accepting it and throwing it around so glibly.
    - sizzle 4y ago
      Got any good links?
    - pdonis 4y ago
      > If you're implying social Darwinism I don't think the GP was referring to social Darwinism, just plain old Darwinism, of the "Darwin Award" variety.
      - oasisbob 4y ago
        My point is that exactly. The "Darwin Award" variety IS a facetious form of social Darwinism. It's not related to the science of evolution, it's using the principles of natural selection for social commentary.
        pdonis 4y ago
        > It's not related to the science of evolution Yes, it is, at least to the extent that intelligence and common sense are selected for, and their opposites are selected against, in our current selective environment.
        oasisbob 4y ago
        If there's anything in the literature describing the increase in "common sense" among Homo sapiens due to evolutionary pressures, I'd love to read it.
- winternett 4y ago
  People get pushed to the brink in desperation after years of posting but not being noticed... It's tragic, but to be honest, a lot of the people that end up dying in an accident for doing dumb things would possibly be even more destructive if they succeeded each time. Not everyone is cut out to be an entertainer, influencer, or celebrity. The problem in our current world is that social platforms are encouraging everyone to quit their job to be those types of entertainers (while not paying the very same people), and it's not a realistic model for success, and quite possibly very harmful to the world's future and to mental health. It has happened in the past, Evel Knievel was one of the most popular incidents of someone sacrificing themselves to entertain others well prior to the "like and follow" era.
  - robotnikman 4y ago
    I'm reminded of the song 'Creature Comfort' by Arcade Fire "God, make me famous. If you can't, just make it painless"
- AlexandrB 4y ago
  > A British YouTuber named Jay Swingler performed a dangerous stunt about a year ago. He placed a plastic bag with a breathing tube over his head, then “glued” his head to the inside of a microwave oven with expanding plaster. The plaster set, and Swingler couldn’t get his head out of the microwave. It took a team of paramedics to set him free. Wow.
  - phs318u 4y ago
    The Darwin Awards - now an 8 part docu-series on YouTube Premium.
martin_a 4y ago
> there's obviously an advertising scheme or some sort of moneymaking ploy behind a lot of it. gaining influence with videos like these (widespread, "easy content") will probably earn you some advertisement deals
- winternett 4y ago
  That's the problem... Advertisers seeking easily "malleable" actors to shill their products... People who they can also underpay and over-contract. Social media is a gold mine for exploiting people who need opportunity... Especially young people. They're unionizing Starbucks, but it might be wiser/better to unionize social media creators before it's too late.
cratermoon 4y ago
William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition revolves around the protagonist's search for the origins of "the footage", a series of anonymous, artistic clips posted on the internet.
MattGaiser 4y ago
> It would be interesting to know who funds the production of many of the videos, because there's obviously an advertising scheme or some sort of moneymaking ploy behind a lot of it. A friend of a friend is an influencer doing 50K a month. He has a network of influencers he knows. It is overwhelmingly referral schemes for apps or pumping shitcoins.
phkahler 4y ago
>> Even car accidents... I hate when a real car accident is attributed to a drunk driver when it was not. There are plenty of wrecked cars from actual drunk driving, you don't need to lie to get an example. Some people think their intentions justify their actions, even when their actions can accurately be described as "lie" or "cheat" or "for profit" or some other dishonest thing. This may be effective in many cases, but in others it discredits your efforts and perhaps even your cause. Random acts of kindness DO happen, but are usually not captured on video.
- Mordisquitos 4y ago
  > Random acts of kindness DO happen, but are usually not captured on video. Indeed. In fact, when the act is intentionally captured on video by its performer, not only is it already very debatable that it is an act of "kindness"... but it is also obviously NOT "random"! (For the colloquial meaning of "random" of course)
  - b112 4y ago
    I recall a few years back, I was going to visit someone, and bought flowers. Before I left, plans changed, so now I was in the mall parking lot, and had (to me) useless flowers. In the parking lot, I saw an older woman sitting in her car. I walked up to her, proclaimed "surprise, flowers!", which she took, and I walked away. It is sad to think that these days, it almost makes more sense to just throw them away, instead of giving a bit of unexpected joy to someone. (the woman seemed surprised, and happy)
    - gambiting 4y ago
      The difference is that you didn't use the opportunity to promote your brand on social media, nor did you trick her into holding the flowers for you just to disappear. I think the reaction would have been completely different if he did actually present those as a gift.
      - b112 4y ago
admax88qqq 4y ago
It's interesting how you're complaining about so much content being staged. I much prefer that this type of content is staged. The alternative appears to be harassing random strangers like the case in the article. With staged content the only victim is the duped audience who can always just not watch TikTok.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- tsol 4y ago
  Well I think his issue is that the staged stuff(that pretends it isn't staged) leads to people trying to copycat the format and do it unstaged
  - admax88qqq 4y ago
    Maybe but most people complain about staged stuff for not being "real."
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  I like watching dash cam videos. I would hate to see a staged one, and would complain loudly about it not being real. That doesn't mean I want more accidents and near-accidents, it means anyone faking a dash cam video should not submit anything at all. If you want to do a skit, make a skit.
  - dwringer 4y ago
    This reminds me of the film Nightcrawler.
- autoexec 4y ago
  I don't think the videos being staged is the issue, it's that they are staged without disclosure. We want to be entertained, but not lied to. A sitcom or summer blockbuster is a lie too, but we're all pretty clear about that going in. I think reality TV and cable news regularly crosses that line though.
another-circus 4y ago
You can avoid that content by not watching the video or visiting places where videos like that appear.
- winternett 4y ago
  Like the entire Internet now... Got it. These apps don't allow for people to choose the content they see. Even the front page of CNN.Com is regularly now citing TikTok clips that went "viral". In the next few years there will be no way to avoid this staged and shilled content anywhere. Especially as monopoly platforms begin to collaborate with each other to create marketing campaigns. Suggestive/manipulative marketing has a stranglehold on the Internet without most people knowing. Things displayed on site front pages are there for a reason, and it's not usually because it naturally went viral, it's there because it makes companies a lot of money.... The real content, made by authentic people is buried by algorithms and under a sea of staged and copycat content. (Just my opinion though)
  - pdonis 4y ago
    > Like the entire Internet now Not even close. There are plenty of places on the Internet that are not infected with this trash. (This site is one of them: nobody has to wade through videos and ads just to post here.) It is unfortunate that so-called "mainstream news" sites like CNN are not among them, but that's CNN's problem.
    - winternett 4y ago
      Give me a good example, and I'll give you an example in that instance where you're wrong. If sites are not currently contaminated by fake and staged content, I guarantee you they soon will be. News sources previously reporting on and praising crypto companies and coins that have now been exposed as scams (now gone bankrupt) is a troubling sign that even journalism is relying on likes for reputation more than properly checking sources. Many influencers pushed crypto heavily in the past years, leading to huge money losses for people who follow them. There has still never been proper public account for how this social media content cycle mentally manipulates people regularly.
nonameking2026 4y ago
It's an industry - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqa8dsBtno https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqa8dsBtno Fake cooking videos en masse. I think it's time to give people the option of opting out of filming, carry a small rfid/chip or s-t and then you can't be filmed - built in AI blur :)
- squarefoot 4y ago
  A QR code carrying a universally standardized and unskippable instruction to "blur whoever wears it" should suffice. "Permission levels" could also be added so that for example I can choose to be filmed/photographed only by family and/or friends but not strangers. It doesn't seem out of reach with current technology.
dylan604 4y ago
>but there's never disclaimer that the video is staged or a skit. This is where working in the entertainment industry has jaded me a bit. By default, I assume that if it captured on camera, it has been planned/staged/etc for the explicit purpose of being shown to people. With social media, I think it has been turned up to an 11 as everyone is trying to become social media famous. It takes a bit of convincing for me to believe that something is truly real at this point. Due to the "inside baseball" knowledge of how fake everything is on film/TV, I find it sad that so so many people fall for thinking something is real and actually needs this kind of disclaimer.
- datavirtue 4y ago
  A huge swath of the population thinks life is a TV show. Not consciously, but in the back of their mind because they have spent so much time living through entertainment. "To the Capital building...this should be fun!!" Hahaha....
  - dylan604 4y ago
    Or how the real houswives are really not acting or any reality tv show is not make-believe for entertainment purposes.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  "By default, I assume that if it captured on camera, it has been planned/staged/etc for the explicit purpose of being shown to people" - I'm genuinely curious, you'd include much of the war footage that's come out of Ukraine recently? I've no doubt a certain amount of it is "stage managed" and carefully edited to come across on TV as strikingly as possible, but to imply that most of it (including secret-filmed footage of POWs being marched off and later shots of their bodies etc.) is staged for the explicit purpose of being shown is a big claim. (Technically your initial claim is almost tautological, but I assume you meant "shown for purposes other to genuinely convey information about the real world")
  - dylan604 4y ago
okasaki 4y ago
I think the most disturbing variant is where they put animals in dangerous situations (sometimes hurting them) and then "rescue" them. There's a whole industry of this shit.
- hef19898 4y ago
  Like the dolphin calf that died over some selfies?

hk1337 4y ago

At least if it's staged you know all the parties are in on it and it's not leaving someone "holding the bag".

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

btilly 4y ago

The staged stuff doesn't bother me as much as the dangerous stuff: https://www.fastcompany.com/90287323/people-are-falling-off-buildings-in-search-of-the-perfect-instagram-shot https://www.fastcompany.com/90287323/people-are-falling-off-...

branon 4y ago
Natural selection at work.
- oasisbob 4y ago
  If you're implying social Darwinism being an expected natural consequence, you may want to research the history and abuses of the idea before accepting it and throwing it around so glibly.
  - sizzle 4y ago
    Got any good links?
  - pdonis 4y ago
    > If you're implying social Darwinism I don't think the GP was referring to social Darwinism, just plain old Darwinism, of the "Darwin Award" variety.
    - oasisbob 4y ago
      My point is that exactly. The "Darwin Award" variety IS a facetious form of social Darwinism. It's not related to the science of evolution, it's using the principles of natural selection for social commentary.
      - pdonis 4y ago
        > It's not related to the science of evolution Yes, it is, at least to the extent that intelligence and common sense are selected for, and their opposites are selected against, in our current selective environment.
        oasisbob 4y ago
        If there's anything in the literature describing the increase in "common sense" among Homo sapiens due to evolutionary pressures, I'd love to read it.
winternett 4y ago
People get pushed to the brink in desperation after years of posting but not being noticed... It's tragic, but to be honest, a lot of the people that end up dying in an accident for doing dumb things would possibly be even more destructive if they succeeded each time. Not everyone is cut out to be an entertainer, influencer, or celebrity. The problem in our current world is that social platforms are encouraging everyone to quit their job to be those types of entertainers (while not paying the very same people), and it's not a realistic model for success, and quite possibly very harmful to the world's future and to mental health. It has happened in the past, Evel Knievel was one of the most popular incidents of someone sacrificing themselves to entertain others well prior to the "like and follow" era.
- robotnikman 4y ago
  I'm reminded of the song 'Creature Comfort' by Arcade Fire "God, make me famous. If you can't, just make it painless"
AlexandrB 4y ago
> A British YouTuber named Jay Swingler performed a dangerous stunt about a year ago. He placed a plastic bag with a breathing tube over his head, then “glued” his head to the inside of a microwave oven with expanding plaster. The plaster set, and Swingler couldn’t get his head out of the microwave. It took a team of paramedics to set him free. Wow.
- phs318u 4y ago
  The Darwin Awards - now an 8 part docu-series on YouTube Premium.

martin_a 4y ago

> there's obviously an advertising scheme or some sort of moneymaking ploy behind a lot of it. gaining influence with videos like these (widespread, "easy content") will probably earn you some advertisement deals

winternett 4y ago
That's the problem... Advertisers seeking easily "malleable" actors to shill their products... People who they can also underpay and over-contract. Social media is a gold mine for exploiting people who need opportunity... Especially young people. They're unionizing Starbucks, but it might be wiser/better to unionize social media creators before it's too late.

cratermoon 4y ago

William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition revolves around the protagonist's search for the origins of "the footage", a series of anonymous, artistic clips posted on the internet.

MattGaiser 4y ago

> It would be interesting to know who funds the production of many of the videos, because there's obviously an advertising scheme or some sort of moneymaking ploy behind a lot of it. A friend of a friend is an influencer doing 50K a month. He has a network of influencers he knows. It is overwhelmingly referral schemes for apps or pumping shitcoins.

phkahler 4y ago

>> Even car accidents... I hate when a real car accident is attributed to a drunk driver when it was not. There are plenty of wrecked cars from actual drunk driving, you don't need to lie to get an example. Some people think their intentions justify their actions, even when their actions can accurately be described as "lie" or "cheat" or "for profit" or some other dishonest thing. This may be effective in many cases, but in others it discredits your efforts and perhaps even your cause. Random acts of kindness DO happen, but are usually not captured on video.

Mordisquitos 4y ago
> Random acts of kindness DO happen, but are usually not captured on video. Indeed. In fact, when the act is intentionally captured on video by its performer, not only is it already very debatable that it is an act of "kindness"... but it is also obviously NOT "random"! (For the colloquial meaning of "random" of course)
- b112 4y ago
  I recall a few years back, I was going to visit someone, and bought flowers. Before I left, plans changed, so now I was in the mall parking lot, and had (to me) useless flowers. In the parking lot, I saw an older woman sitting in her car. I walked up to her, proclaimed "surprise, flowers!", which she took, and I walked away. It is sad to think that these days, it almost makes more sense to just throw them away, instead of giving a bit of unexpected joy to someone. (the woman seemed surprised, and happy)
  - gambiting 4y ago
    The difference is that you didn't use the opportunity to promote your brand on social media, nor did you trick her into holding the flowers for you just to disappear. I think the reaction would have been completely different if he did actually present those as a gift.
    - b112 4y ago

admax88qqq 4y ago

It's interesting how you're complaining about so much content being staged. I much prefer that this type of content is staged. The alternative appears to be harassing random strangers like the case in the article. With staged content the only victim is the duped audience who can always just not watch TikTok.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
tsol 4y ago
Well I think his issue is that the staged stuff(that pretends it isn't staged) leads to people trying to copycat the format and do it unstaged
- admax88qqq 4y ago
  Maybe but most people complain about staged stuff for not being "real."
Dylan16807 4y ago
I like watching dash cam videos. I would hate to see a staged one, and would complain loudly about it not being real. That doesn't mean I want more accidents and near-accidents, it means anyone faking a dash cam video should not submit anything at all. If you want to do a skit, make a skit.
- dwringer 4y ago
  This reminds me of the film Nightcrawler.
autoexec 4y ago
I don't think the videos being staged is the issue, it's that they are staged without disclosure. We want to be entertained, but not lied to. A sitcom or summer blockbuster is a lie too, but we're all pretty clear about that going in. I think reality TV and cable news regularly crosses that line though.

another-circus 4y ago

You can avoid that content by not watching the video or visiting places where videos like that appear.

winternett 4y ago
Like the entire Internet now... Got it. These apps don't allow for people to choose the content they see. Even the front page of CNN.Com is regularly now citing TikTok clips that went "viral". In the next few years there will be no way to avoid this staged and shilled content anywhere. Especially as monopoly platforms begin to collaborate with each other to create marketing campaigns. Suggestive/manipulative marketing has a stranglehold on the Internet without most people knowing. Things displayed on site front pages are there for a reason, and it's not usually because it naturally went viral, it's there because it makes companies a lot of money.... The real content, made by authentic people is buried by algorithms and under a sea of staged and copycat content. (Just my opinion though)
- pdonis 4y ago
  > Like the entire Internet now Not even close. There are plenty of places on the Internet that are not infected with this trash. (This site is one of them: nobody has to wade through videos and ads just to post here.) It is unfortunate that so-called "mainstream news" sites like CNN are not among them, but that's CNN's problem.
  - winternett 4y ago
    Give me a good example, and I'll give you an example in that instance where you're wrong. If sites are not currently contaminated by fake and staged content, I guarantee you they soon will be. News sources previously reporting on and praising crypto companies and coins that have now been exposed as scams (now gone bankrupt) is a troubling sign that even journalism is relying on likes for reputation more than properly checking sources. Many influencers pushed crypto heavily in the past years, leading to huge money losses for people who follow them. There has still never been proper public account for how this social media content cycle mentally manipulates people regularly.

nonameking2026 4y ago

It's an industry - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqa8dsBtno https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqa8dsBtno Fake cooking videos en masse. I think it's time to give people the option of opting out of filming, carry a small rfid/chip or s-t and then you can't be filmed - built in AI blur :)

squarefoot 4y ago
A QR code carrying a universally standardized and unskippable instruction to "blur whoever wears it" should suffice. "Permission levels" could also be added so that for example I can choose to be filmed/photographed only by family and/or friends but not strangers. It doesn't seem out of reach with current technology.

dylan604 4y ago

>but there's never disclaimer that the video is staged or a skit. This is where working in the entertainment industry has jaded me a bit. By default, I assume that if it captured on camera, it has been planned/staged/etc for the explicit purpose of being shown to people. With social media, I think it has been turned up to an 11 as everyone is trying to become social media famous. It takes a bit of convincing for me to believe that something is truly real at this point. Due to the "inside baseball" knowledge of how fake everything is on film/TV, I find it sad that so so many people fall for thinking something is real and actually needs this kind of disclaimer.

datavirtue 4y ago
A huge swath of the population thinks life is a TV show. Not consciously, but in the back of their mind because they have spent so much time living through entertainment. "To the Capital building...this should be fun!!" Hahaha....
- dylan604 4y ago
  Or how the real houswives are really not acting or any reality tv show is not make-believe for entertainment purposes.
wizofaus 4y ago
"By default, I assume that if it captured on camera, it has been planned/staged/etc for the explicit purpose of being shown to people" - I'm genuinely curious, you'd include much of the war footage that's come out of Ukraine recently? I've no doubt a certain amount of it is "stage managed" and carefully edited to come across on TV as strikingly as possible, but to imply that most of it (including secret-filmed footage of POWs being marched off and later shots of their bodies etc.) is staged for the explicit purpose of being shown is a big claim. (Technically your initial claim is almost tautological, but I assume you meant "shown for purposes other to genuinely convey information about the real world")
- dylan604 4y ago

okasaki 4y ago

I think the most disturbing variant is where they put animals in dangerous situations (sometimes hurting them) and then "rescue" them. There's a whole industry of this shit.

hef19898 4y ago
Like the dolphin calf that died over some selfies?