Think before you follow: 5 influencers you should avoid in 2026

DEBOLINA ROY

The Constant Viral Fake Expert

Such influencers align themselves with every trending topic and declare themselves experts, although they lack knowledge and experience. One week it might be finance and the next wellness or AI. By 2026, audiences will be becoming indifferent to shallow advice, and thus, this type of influencer is the one you should avoid most.

The Luxury-Only Showoff

Private jets, designer hauls, and unrealistic lifestyles without any transparency are the common features of these creators. They often set unattainable standards and have secret sponsorships. Instead of giving off the vibe of being inspired, their content seems to be disjointed and tone, deaf, especially when viewers demand relatability and honesty rather than flashy excess.

The Engagement-Bait Influencer

These influencers do everything in their power to get more likes, even if it means using misleading captions, fake giveaways, and forced controversies. Most of the time, they provide no value and manipulate emotions or opinions. With platforms taking measures against such tactics, this remains a major category of influencers that you should avoid.

The Over-Filtered "Perfect Life" Creator

Their feeds are full of heavily edited photos, fake authenticity, and unrealistically perfect routines. Although looks are still important, people want to see real stories in 2026, not perfect ones. This type of polished, but empty content can damage the user's self-image and trust in them, so these influencers are becoming less and less relevant.

The Product-Pushing Machine

They advertise their product in every post and use a discount code in every story. These influencers will promote any product that pays them without considering the quality or if it is relevant to their followers. Since they have no genuine connection with what they recommend, their credibility goes down very quickly, and they are the ones you should be most careful about.

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