The more I study social media, the more obvious it becomes: influencers don’t just influence with their opinions—they influence by controlling what you’re allowed to see around those opinions.

Most people never notice it. They watch a video, scroll the comments, and assume they’ve stepped into a real public conversation. But they haven’t. They’ve stepped into a stage-managed environment.

Look at any big account and you’ll see nothing but cheers, praise, agreement, and devotion. It looks like everyone in the world lines up behind the influencer’s point of view. It feels like consensus.

Except it’s not real.

Critical comments? Buried.
Thoughtful disagreements? Held for review.
Anything sharp, factual, or inconvenient? Filtered out before it ever reaches the crowd.

And YouTube removing dislike counts only made the illusion stronger. You can’t see negative feedback anymore. You can only see what the influencer— and the platform—want you to see.

Why? Because for influencers, this is business.
Positive comments, subscribers, likes, shares, and views—that’s how they earn their living.
That’s the paycheck.
That’s the game.

And you thought they cared.

They care about engagement. They care about growth. They care about the appearance of universal approval because it brings in money, sponsorships, and bigger platforms. The more agreement they show, the more influence they appear to have. The more influence they appear to have, the more people fall in line.

And that’s the danger.

When disagreement is deleted and only praise is allowed, people begin to doubt themselves. They start thinking, “Maybe I’m the only one who sees it differently.” Not because they’re wrong—because every other person who thought the same was silenced behind the scenes.

This is why modern social media is so dangerous. It pretends to be public, open, organic, and honest. But it’s not. It’s curated, controlled, polished, and monetized.

Influencers don’t just influence opinions—they influence the illusion of public agreement.
And the illusion is powerful.