We all know that much of what we see online, particularly on social-media, isn't real, or is at least a stretch of the truth. We know celebrities tweek images to make themselves look better and that others photoshop themselves into locations where that they have never really visited.
One teen decided however that he would set up a project to see if he, as a relatively unknown Instagram user and YouTuber, could fool the entire internet into believing he was living a life of excitement and luxury.
19-year-old vlogger, Byron Denton, managed to achieve all this from his bedroom, using three apps, FaceTune, PicsArt, and Adobe Lightroom, along with a host of stock images. He then released a video showing how it was all done.
His pictures included him on a private jet, partying with models, shopping at high-end clothing stores, and at amazing locations such as London and Paris.
Amazingly, as he posted the images, more and more people began following him, believing he really was the cock-of-the-walk. He openly states he was inspired by fellow YouTuber George Mason, who had faked going on vacation for a week.
He says on the YouTube video explaining his project:
"After seeing my reccomended box get filled with videos of people faking holidays or going on tv shows i thought it would be fun to put my own twist on it and FAKE being rich on instagram for a whole ass week!! Im talking private jets, louis vuitton shopping spree's the WHOLE 9 YARDS!!... well all thanks to photoshop of course lmao!" [sic]
Denton added:
"I'd always wondered if the reason people are so obsessed with celebrities was due to the fact they can afford to live a life not everyone can."
So convincing are his images, and his computer skills so good, that he was soon being inundated with messages not only from companies looking to have him as an influencer, but also from friends and family who thought he had perhaps won the lottery or had been hiding his real identity all this time.
After just a week of the project, he revealed to his followers that he was not, in fact, a celebrity living the high-life but a masterful computer user.
His video already has over 1.5 million views and has been barely online for a month.
[h/t: Earth Wonders]
COMMENTS