Is there any way to tell the difference between genuine social media videos and ones that are just for show and clicks these days?
Some common red flags. Most aren't the death knell on their own, but if a creator indulges in a bunch of them you might have a paid shill or a Russian troll farm on your hands:
-Superlatives in the video title.
-"You'll never believe what happens next."
- A company brand name is visible on still image. Unless it's a review of the product itself.
- Racy and/or heavily photoshopped still image.
- Posting history is a mix of personal/self-help/fashion advice half the time and politics the other half.
- Anything with "slime" in the title.
- "I don't usually post about this, but..." (especially if obviously untrue!)
- Very frequent "collabs" with other dubious content creators.
- User posts very frequently, or conversely, they only appear to have posted one or two videos under a given name.
- It's about George Soros, AOC, or the Koch Brothers.
- An AI is reading the script.
- It's a slide show with a voice over.
- Comic Sans
- "Why is no one talking about..." (topic of the week that everyone is talking about)
-"What they don't want you to know about..."
-Lots of grievance videos about other creators, platforms, or alleged mistreatment by the "mainstream media".
