Summary

The author humorously recounts their encounter with a suspicious celebrity follower on Medium, leading to a broader discussion on the prevalence of fake accounts, bots, and AI-generated content on the platform.

Abstract

The article titled "I Am So Excited To Have A Phony Celebrity Follower!" on Medium narrates the author's initial excitement upon noticing a celebrity following their account. The celebrity, a famous actor and one of the author's favorites, turned out to be a fake profile with no published stories or biographical information. The author, Marilyn Glover, uses this experience to caution fellow writers about the presence of fraudulent accounts, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and originality in content creation. The piece also touches on the challenges posed by AI-generated content and the need for vigilance against plagiarism and other forms of deception on Medium. Despite the playful tone, the author is clear about their stance against any form of fraudulent activity on the platform.

Opinions

The author initially fantasizes about the celebrity follower being genuine but quickly realizes the improbability.
There is a clear skepticism about the authenticity of the celebrity profile, labeling it as a "phony bologna" follower.
The author suspects that other writers might be engaging in follow-for-follow tactics without verifying the authenticity of such profiles.
Marilyn Glover expresses a strong preference for human-created content over AI-generated material, viewing the latter as a form of deception.
The author takes a firm stand against plagiarism and fraudulent activity, advocating for honesty and originality in writing.
There is an underlying concern about the future of content creation, where differentiating between human and AI contributions may become increasingly difficult.
The article concludes with a call to action for a human connection in content creation and a warning to remain cautious of fraudulent activities on Medium.

This Happened To Me, Medium

I Am So Excited To Have A Phony Celebrity Follower!

Gimme a Break; a Little Ditty About Medium Fake

Sexy-Man-Celebrity- image-created by the author using Freepik

So, there I was one late evening last week, sitting in my office scrolling through my Medium notifications.

La da dee la di dah, La da dah la da di

Just humming to myself as I often do, enjoying my late-night writing sessions, reading, and such.

Then, something quite lovely, quite sexy, caught my eye….

A heavenly hunk of a man started following me, and not just any man, but a famous actor, yes, a celebrity, and one of my all-time pics for super yabba dabba delicious!

In a split moment of fantasy-induced illusions, I let one of my alter egos out to play.

I just sat at my desk, staring at the computer screen with wide-eyed anime eyes.

Drooling and lusting after Mr. Wonderful.

My face took on a mind of its own, contorting into God knows what, and then the sounds, oh, the sounds that came out of me:

Hubba Hubba

Yee Haw

WOOF

Don’t worry, Neil, I stopped!

With one 360-degree spin of my office chair, I was whisked back to reality.

Darn

And I knew the probability of this newfound celebrity follower being an ACTUAL celebrity was safe to say, not a chance in hell!

Indeed, I smelled something fishy.

So, I followed the smell and clicked on Mr. Ooh-la-la’s profile, and what did I find?

Nothing!

Not a freaking thing!

Zip, zilch, nunca, nada, cero

No published stories, no about me information, only a picture of the “famous actor and his name.”

To be clear, I mean the name and photo of the celebrity this person is assuming.

Not the actual star who has been in show business for over two decades.

I am pretty sure the real guy would provide a detailed biography if it were him. Still, I suspect that the real him would not be casually strolling along Medium, never mind randomly following people.

Gimme a break!

Whereas I am not quick to jump to conclusions and generally believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, it is safe to conclude that this is a fake follower!

Surprisingly enough, Mr. Phony bologna has some followers of his own.

Hmm…

And he is following other writers, something in the one hundred range.

Now I cannot release the person’s name for obvious reasons; I like it here, on Medium, and will not do anything that potentially will get me kicked off the platform, but for the unsuspecting, I offer a warning: please be aware!

Eye candy, much like any treat, as tempting as it might be, sweet on the eyes and all, does not mean it is good for you!

Are writers following Mr. Ooh-la-la simply as a follow-for-follow deal without probing further, or are people buying into the celebrity status?

Who knows; your guess is as good as mine!

I sincerely apologize for the one in a bazillion chance that I am wrong, and Sir Hunksalot is the real deal.

I can readily admit when I am wrong.

However, I am confident that my better judgment is not steering me wrong, and my final analysis is this is a FAKER!

A Little Ditty About Other Medium Fakes

Wow, that’s fake- two surprised girls- image- created by the author using FreePick

I am sure that most Medium writers are familiar with the unfortunate fact that there are suspicious accounts, bots, scammers, and even the dreaded plagiarisers on this platform.

And now, we have to consider things like AI-generated content, and depending on what you believe, this might fall into the category of fraud, mockup, counterfeit, or sham.

I happen to be one of those writers who favor good old-fashioned work, so I am not a fan of this ever-rising new era of typing in a few keywords and phrases and letting technology do the rest!

As a writer, editor, and publication owner, I both crave and expect creators to be honest and produce original work.

And I think that readers expect the same.

So, what does the future hold?

Does this mean that in addition to plagiarism checkers, I have to worry about figuring out how in the blazes I can differentiate between human-created content and machines?

Ugh…

For now, basking in my creativity, I present to you a little ditty about Medium fakeness.

BTW, a ditty is a little song or a poem.

Pardon me, But I favor a human connection Real people who are flawed Imperfect perfection Not bots Or AI-generated perception- Content not of mortals But tech-born deception Pardon me, But I do not support cribbing Copy and paste creators Do not create- They are fibbing Unworthy of the term, ad-libbing Calculated thieves Merits more than a ribbing Pardon me, But as an editor I will make no exception For copied content Meets rejection A fraud, a knockoff A likeness or a sham It gets you and yours the boot Hey, I am who I am!

Thanks for reading!

Although this piece was inspired by a recent “suspicious account” discovery and written in a playful mood, make no mistake; I take anything of a fraudulent nature seriously, whether it is a profile, fake offer, stolen content, and so on.

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