I remember once finding a Facebook post by the founder of a “ladies group” where she was writing a negative review on an indie online store that sells pyjamas. The woman was complaining to her group’s members that the owner was rude to her, but that wasn’t the reason she was writing the negative review.

See, this woman, who we’ll call Karen, was upset that on the website it says that the delivery is within 24 hours, but it’s been four days, with weekends included, and she still didn’t receive her stuff. Mind you; this was during the peak of the pandemic.

Tragic, really.

Why did she care so much about this specific store?

A little bit of a back story; one of the members of Karen’s group made a post asking about a certain pyjama Dina El Sherbiny wore on her show, and it was from the website Karen later ordered from. This post was a hit on the group with everyone liking the business’s page, and even friends of the owner let him know about this because it was great for their business.

Going back to the negative review, Karen said that after the original post, she reached out to the owner, without explaining why she did, and that he was rude and suddenly stopped replying. Regardless, she still went to the website and placed her order, which was late.

But it turned out Karen was lying. SHOCKER!

The owner’s wife replied to the negative review and stated that Karen should post screenshots of the conversation she had with the owner, her husband. All of a sudden, the comments were closed, and Karen made another post saying it was a misunderstanding because she asked them to deliver the stuff after the weekend, but she forgot. Which means the negative review was over her forgetting. Karen didn’t even say it was her fault; she said its a misunderstanding from both ends.

She started a smear campaign because she forgot, and she still holds them responsible for some reason.

This woman refused to state that she was asking for free products because she accidentally promoted them on her group. She also played the victim because some people, including myself, called her out on her bullshit. We were all called bullies, who were sent by the owner of the business to attack her.

No, I do not know the owner.

This woman also insisted that she never expects free products more did she get paid from anyone who she promoted. Again, MORE LIES!!

And that’s where the problem lies; anyone who works in PR, including myself, knows that she does get paid for promotions. Heck, I even paid her before to promote a client back when I worked in PR.

On top of that, Karen’s group — which for some reason is named after her nickname and it’s just weird — was originally about selling her weight loss program. All of a sudden, turned into a ladies group with Karen promoting and reviewing several businesses.

I have no problem with women starting their businesses, nor do I have a problem with “influencer” making money. Let’s are real; whether we like them or not, they deserve the money.

The real issue here is the lack of transparency these groups have.

One of the positive things about the internet, especially social media platforms, is that it can create communities. You find a safe space that you belong to, and people who think like you; who won’t want that?

These women build the communities through Facebook groups, and they gain their member’s trust only to use it to monetize out of them.

That’s not a single case! Another major group owner recommended a beauty centre which later burned her legs!

Another major ladies group had a worse incident where the owner, who we’ll call this one “Miss” thing, made a big ass post where she was saying that she got burned from a laser clinic and her legs were destroyed as a result. The thing is just a few months before that, Miss thing here wrote a positive review about the clinic and that she has been going to them for months and she loved them so much, she’s recommending them to her members.

Yes, Miss thing recommended something as if she personally tried it to over 100k+ members, only to get burned when she tried them. And no, it wasn’t an accident. This beauty centre is known for burning their clients and refusing to help or even refund them.

These group owners don’t just get free services. They’re paid up to 100,000 LE for a promotional campaign.

Ask anyone who works in PR and marketing, they’ll tell you influencers charge up to millions for specific campaigns, and group powers do charge in the thousands. There’s absolutely nothing they do that’s for free. The competitions, the “personal recommendations” the selfies they post and subtly mention where their clothes from. Everything!

In fact, some even have deals where they post pictures and have the client and their friends ask them about who they’re wearing, or what’s the venue they’re at so that they can make the posts seem genuine.

They’re not!

Honestly, they aren’t the only ones guilty of this. Most pages and social websites and magazines do the same. Even some who usually state that they’re posting sponsored content will remove that line if they’re paid more.

But again, I can’t blame them. Business is business, and they work hard to make the content and do deserve the money. It’s up to you, the viewer, their target, to know what’s genuine and what’s an ad.

I’ll leave you with this scene from South Park that wraps it up great!

*This article is not sponsored by South Park. We wish, but it’s not.