Smart About Money: When Influencers Lie

Rick Steves started traveling in 1978 when he was 23. Millions and millions of people have been enjoying his show on public television since 1991. Some have been armchair travelers with him, and many have actually visited the places he talks about on his show or in his guidebooks.

Nick Maffeo

According to Wikipedia, Steves is a travel writer, tour company owner, and television personality whose travel philosophy encourages people to explore less-touristy destinations and to become immersed in the local people’s way of life.

Is Rick Steves an influencer? Certainly, but not in the way that is giving that word such a negative connotation these days.

As usual, in life and especially online with its super-low barriers to entry, things can and often do get way out of hand. That definitely applies to influencers. In England, local people are getting fed up with “idiot” influencers who “invade popular tourist destinations, causing chaos, leaving piles of rubbish, and breaking out in fights over issues like parking,” according to the Daily Mail.

Apparently, the British government is considering oversight and regulation of social media influencers because they are concerned about fraud and dishonesty by some. Rightfully so.

A recent article in Harvard Business Review asked, “What happens when influencers lie?” It’s a good question.

Because some influencers do lie — in various ways. Sometimes there seems to be an intentional effort to mis-inform, and it’s not always clear why. Other times it seems like an influencer is making some sort of unfortunate attempt to be humorous for clicks or to get others to do things that will get them in trouble. Garbage social media without vetting or accountability has absolutely led to problems for people who take these influencers’ advice at face value.

The Wall Street Journal’s travel writer Dawn Gilbertson recently said that, when it comes to travel, “Social media has all the answers, it seems. The trick is separating solid advice from the hype. As a veteran travel journalist who lives on social media for my job, I cringe at some of the posts I see — mainly because they give travelers false hope.”

Sometimes it’s even worse than just “false hope” when it comes to financial influencers, also known as “fin-fluencers.”

According to The Financial Brand, “Fin-fluencer advice can be ambiguous, misleading, and even flat-out wrong.” Almond Financial reports that “up to 87 percent of financial advice on TikTok given out by so-called ‘fin-fluencers’ could be potentially misleading.” Almond also points to a “startling rise in the number of unqualified and unvetted individuals giving out unverified financial advice.”

When she took a look at TikTok recently, Anabela Vargas, our vice president/senior lending officer, was surprised at how much of the mortgage information on TikTok was just not right, including how a mortgage borrower could supposedly “tell a bank” how to handle their loan.

A significant concern is that young people are more likely to listen to influencers, and they may not have much “school of hard knocks” experience separating good ideas from internet hype and clickbait-generating nonsense.

There are only two reasons why anyone wants to be an influencer — for attention and for money. There’s nothing at base wrong with that.

People are curious and they like being able to get tips and ideas from subject experts. It’s up to you and young people you know to independently confirm if an influencer is a genuine expert with a solid track record of giving dependable advice before any time, money, or hopeful commitments are made based on their claims.

Nick Maffeo is the President & CEO of Canton Co-operative Bank in Canton. Have a question? Email to submissions@thecantoncitizen.com.

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Posted by Nick Maffeo on Mar 21 2025. Filed under Featured Content, Opinion, Smart About Money. Both comments and pings are currently closed.