De-influencing: The Trend Putting Authenticity First“反种草”浪潮：真实至上

Be honest： how often does your social media scrolling lead to shopping？ And how many of those things that TikTok made you buy did you actually need？ Enter de-influencing， the TikTok trend flipping1 influencing on its head—and aiming to save our bank balances in the process.

老实说：你在浏览社交媒体时，有多少次是刷着刷着就去购物了？TikTok促使你买下的东西里，有多少是你真正需要的？“反种草”浪潮应运而生——这是TikTok上的趋势，旨在颠覆“种草”，力图在颠覆的过程中挽救我们的银行存款。

There’s been an influx of TikTok beauty mishaps of late that have fueled a growing frustration at creators promoting products online that are misleading or， to put it bluntly， inconsiderate in light of the ongoing cost of living crisis. Take， for example， the “mascara gate” debacle2. US-based influencer Mikayla Nogueira posted a TikTok using the L’Oréal Telescopic Lash Lift Mascara but was accused of using false eyelashes in her review as part of a paid partnership. Neither Nogueira nor L’Oréal has commented on the post. Tarte Cosmetics was also criticized for treating influencers to a lavish， all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai， which sparked debate among fans as the sponsored posts felt unrelatable to many.

近来，TikTok上的美妆带货博主频繁翻车。他们在线推广具有误导性的产品，或者，说穿了就是在目前的生活成本危机下，无视消费者利益的产品。人们对这类博主的不满情绪加剧。以“睫毛膏门”这一“塌房”事件为例，美国网红米凯拉·诺盖拉在TikTok上发布了一条付费合作的测评视频，测评的产品是欧莱雅的纤长提拉睫毛膏，但观众指责她在视频中贴了假睫毛。诺盖拉和欧莱雅都没有对此作出回应。美妆品牌Tarte还因给网红免费提供奢华的迪拜之旅而受到抨击。此举之所以引发粉丝热议，是因为那群网红发布的付费合作内容令许多人感到无法认同。

As a result， social media users have taken it upon themselves3 to rebel against the wave of mass consumption in a bid to reclaim control over their feeds. This has spread outside of the app， too， with Reddit threads4 popping up where users share the products they don’t think are worth the hype. But what actually is de-influencing， how is it different from influencing， and will it last？ We ask a content creator and marketing expert to break it down.

由此，社交媒体用户开始自发地反抗大规模消费浪潮，试图夺回对推送信息的控制权。这股反击热潮也蔓延到了TikTok之外。Reddit网站上突然涌现出许多相关主题的讨论帖，很多用户分享了他们认为名不副实的商品。那么，“反种草”究竟是什么？与“种草”有什么区别？这股浪潮会持续下去吗？我们请一位内容创作者兼营销专家来解析一下。

What is de-influencing？

“反种草”是什么？

De-influencing is the TikTok trend with hundreds of millions of views that’s challenging the hype around so-called cult products by telling you what you shouldn’t buy， instead of what you should. It’s a response to a few different things， including a general feeling of overconsumption （you don’t need more stuff just because TikTok says you do） and the cost of living crisis.

“反种草”是TikTok上浏览量数以亿计的热门话题，通过告诉你什么不该买而不是什么该买，抨击围绕所谓网红产品进行的炒作。“反种草”还对几种现象作出了回应，比如人们普遍感知到的过度消费（TikTok推荐消费者购买超出实际需求量的商品）和生活成本危机。

“People are experiencing a general social media fatigue at the moment，” says makeup artist and beauty content creator Rose Gallagher. “Originally， user-generated content was so popular because people tended to share thoughts on things that they had purchased themselves with no real connection to the brand. Now， with so much to be gained from giving a rave review， it has become harder to tell the genuine reviews from those influenced by the potential for earning.”

“人们现在普遍对社交媒体感到厌倦。”化妆师兼美妆博主罗丝·加拉格尔表示，“一开始，用户原创的内容之所以如此受欢迎，是因为人们大多分享的是自己对所购商品的主观想法，与品牌本身没有实际的联系。如今，人们能从发表热情洋溢的好评中获得不少收益，于是从受潜在收益影响的评论中分辨出真正的好评已经变得越来越难。”

This isn’t the first time there’s been a backlash against promotional content. “I think de-influencing is in some ways similar to when ’90s magazine editors started to editorialize content and not always write about their advertisers，” says CEO of the British Beauty Council and cofounder of PR agency Brandstand Communications， Millie Kendall. “Content creators with integrity， whether that’s magazine editors or influencers， will always try to set their content apart from what they deem to be lacking in honesty. I think it’s important because it sets a level playing field for brands that can’t afford to convince someone to feature their content without paying for the privilege.”

这已经不是推广内容第一次受到强烈抵制了。英国美容协会首席执行官、公关公司Brandstand Communications联合创始人米莉·肯德尔说：“我觉得‘反种草’在某些方面类似于20世纪90年代杂志编辑开始发表评论，而非总写有关广告商的内容。无论是杂志编辑，还是网红，只要是以诚信为准则的内容创作者，总会尽力将自己的创作与他们认为不够诚实的内容划清界限。我认为这一点很重要，因为如此便为品牌提供了一个公平竞争的环境，让花不起特约费用请人专门为自己推广的品牌也可参与其中。”

How is de-influencing different from influencing？

“反种草”与“种草”有何区别？

It sounds progressive， but once you scratch the surface5， there isn’t a huge difference between influencing and de-influencing. “De-influencing is a bit of a false commodity，” says Kendall. “It’s still influence but it’s telling people what not to buy.” While TikTokers may be warning consumers away from expensive or well-known products， some continue to influence by telling consumers what they should buy instead. For example， buying a heated roller set on Amazon over the Dyson Airwrap—this is still suggesting products with sweeping6 promises.

“反种草”这个概念听起来标新立异，但只要略探究竟，你就会发现它与“种草”并没有多大区别。“‘反种草’有点名不副实。”肯德尔指出，“‘反种草’也是对他人施加影响，只不过是告诉大家什么不该买罢了。”虽然TikTok博主们可能是在“劝退”消费者购买昂贵或热门的商品，但其中一部分人依然在通过推荐替代品来影响消费者。例如，不要购买戴森多功能美发棒，但可以在亚马逊网上购买加热卷发筒套装——此举仍然是用笼统的承诺向消费者推荐商品。

Cynically speaking， de-influencing is a good strategy for influencers and brands. Rising living costs mean consumers are less likely to splurge7 on big-ticket8 items， which means the influencers promoting them are less likely to generate affiliate revenue. Pivoting to promoting cheaper products plays into the so-called “Lipstick Effect9，” where people treat themselves to little luxuries， instead of indulgences， during times of economic uncertainty.