Followers of celeb hairstylist Chris Appleton seen uncommon feedback on his web page, main some to take a position that AI bots may be at work.

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Why do individuals suppose Chris Appleton paid for followers?

On Aug. 7, Appleton teased the discharge of his new e book, Your Roots Don’t Define You, on his TikTok web page.

The backside of the e book cowl featured a glowing overview from actress and TV host Drew Barrymore, studying, “Chris is so much more than a hair guru. I am so excited for everyone to learn who he is as he shares his personal journey!” He has appeared on her speak present a number of occasions.

The submit rapidly garnered almost 300 feedback, with many complimenting Appleton. However, some viewers seen one thing unusual in regards to the accounts’ feedback.

In a submit on the subreddit r/popculturechat, an eagle-eyed person took a screenshot of a number of feedback on Appleton’s TikTok.

“Cracking up that on multiple of Chris Appleton’s recent TikToks, he has been purchasing his likes and comments, and the AI paid bots are outing him in the comments. I rather just take the flop on the multiple post and delete then buy my engagement that seems to be outing him which now has real people calling out his fake engagement,” the poster wrote.

In the screenshot, a commenter wrote, “Sure! Can you provide me with the description of the video so I can craft a suitable comment?” This indicated that an AI chatbot was prompted to generate a remark for the account.

Another remark went on an unrelated tangent: “This video provides a deep insight into a complex historical event, offering valuable perspectives on a significant chapter in modern history. It prompts reflection on the impact of political movements and the role of public protest in shaping societal change.”

Others nonetheless spewed an identical sentiment in regards to the e book being inspiring.

In the feedback, viewers mentioned the potential use of bots to drive engagement might backfire.

“Yes, it’s super sad that he feels the need to fake his social media attention, all because of insecurities of not getting as much love on a post as he was wanting. It’s more embarrassing to have obvious bot comments. He should’ve just left it be,” a Reddit commenter wrote.

“OMG, Chris, the AI comments are too much. Just stop,” one other mentioned.

“I’d wager a solid 50% of creators and celebrities do this nowadays. I take this more as a sign that dude went with the cheap option,” a 3rd added.

Appleton wasn’t the primary celeb followers known as out for utilizing pretend followers to spam their feedback sections. In a 2022 submit on r/FauxMoi, customers additionally known as out Hilaria Baldwin, Khloe Kardashian, Scott Disick, and Demi Mawbry for buying engagement on social media.

Others suspected that this wasn’t the primary time the hairstylist had paid for pretend feedback.

“I called it out on his Instagram a few months ago. All his comments would roll in at the same time, and they all would be saying the same thing. It’s always the oddest comments too. ‘Chris brought us all together as a community with this post,’” a commenter mentioned.

“He blocked me lol! I called him out on another post because it was at like 200 likes for two days and when i looked at the post one minute and then went back to see who the girls name was that he styled it went up to like like 20k in a matter of seconds. All the comments, if you click on the profiles, you could tell they were fake accounts,” one other shared.

The Daily Dot reached out to Appleton for additional remark.

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