Dirhams & Dollars

So popular, yet so hated: Why are social media influencers such a paradox? Followed by thousands, these beauty experts, fans of food, and car enthusiasts get paid to post pictures. Sometimes as much as Dh60,000 per post. But other than getting rich doing what they enjoy, what are some of the affects that the rise of social media influencers is having on other business sectors? For example, are journalists who review cars losing their jobs because people want to find out what a 19 year old internet sensation thought about the latest Porsche, instead of a veteran who knows his cars inside out, and will give a balanced review? Has advertising changed forever? Will it always be more subtle now, more subconscious as people sneak adverts in to their posts without us knowing? Or will new laws change all that, forcing influencers to explicitly state that what they are doing is sponsored, thus killing some of the magic? Yousra Zaki, Deputy Editor at Guides, and Ed Clowes discuss this controversial and divisive to