All the links in the article to Amazon now lead to a generic login page with no mention of the program.<p>You can see they weren't generic in the Google cache though:<p><pre><code> site:amazon.com "amazon influencer program"</code></pre>
It makes me sad that fame and celebrity, no matter how it is acquired, equates so directly to money-making and power now. Sad because I don't think it is encouraging the best parts of our nature. But I don't know what to do about it.
My question is will there be a guarantee that the items are genuine and not counterfeit?<p>Celebs will probably not want to be associated with buyers of their endorsed products ending up with counterfeit goods.
A what? A "social media influencer program?" It's a program that employs people skilled at pretending to be someone they aren't, whose goal is to influence the views of people who would prefer to be someone they aren't.<p>"Social media influence" is jargon for lies. Proof? When was the last time you saw a famous actor flogging potatoes? The reason? People actually need potatoes -- they don't need to be tricked into buying them.<p>Even more worrying is the recent rise in lawsuits against anyone who posts a negative product review in social media. The idea is to squelch anything but controlled advertising copy, recited by young, attractive employees. And ... it's working.<p>My favorite advertising slogan of the last 20 years: "If you don't buy a new car, the terrorists win."