Small businesses fight back against influencers' false reviews and freebie demands

10h

Summary

Small-business owners are pushing back against influencers after false reviews, unpaid bills and demands for free products.
Nicole Flanagin posted CCTV contradicting an influencer's TikTok review of her Brews and Mews cat cafe in Lenoir, North Carolina.
Four Winds Craft Guild in Nantucket went viral with a 'no influencers' sign, and a London restaurant chased a £300 unpaid bill.
Owners say influencers can still transform sales, with the creator economy worth $250bn and projected to nearly double by 2027.

Nicole Flanagin said the CCTV showed the incident described in the TikTok 'did not happen' and that she does not regret defending herself.
The influencer who reviewed Brews and Mews said in an apology video she posted before thinking, and later deleted her review.
Lucy Herron said working with the influencer was 'like collaborating with a ninja', and rejected accusations of sexism and internalised misogyny.
An influencer argued in the Four Winds Craft Guild controversy that people now 'just seem to hate women who participate in it'.
Hubert Zanier told the influencer who left his bill unpaid, 'You exploited and abused my hospitality', but said not all influencers are crooked.
David Maffei said his message to influencers seeking free products is, 'Don't lie to me to get free stuff.'

‘Don’t lie to me to get free stuff’: how small businesses are fighting back against influencerstheguardian.com· 10h
The Guardian feature reports on small businesses fighting back against influencers behaving badly, from a North Carolina cat cafe owner posting CCTV that contradicted a TikTok complaint, to a Nantucket craft shop's "no influencers" sign, a London restaurant chasing a £300 unpaid bill, and owners refusing freebie requests. Owners say some influencers still boost sales, with the creator economy worth $250bn and projected to nearly double by 2027.