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"Fake Famous" (2021 release; 87 min.) is a non-fiction documentary about "famous influencers". As the movie opens, a voice over reminds us that back in the day, when young people are asked what they want to become when grown up, the top responses typically were doctors, lawyers, and the like. Today the top response apparently is "influencer". The film makers decide to run an experiment: pick 3 random people with very few followers, and turn each of them into a famous influencer. From a pool of thousands of applicants, Dominique (a/k/a "Dom"), Chris and Wylie are chosen. To get started, the film makers purchase fake followers (7500 for $119) for each of them... At this point we are 10 min. into the film.

Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of writer Nick Bilton, who has followed the tech industry for the New York Times, Vanity, and other platforms. The idea of a social experiment is as simple as it is brilliant AND entertaining. Bilton is savvy enough to know what angels to look for in the world of Instagram fame. For someone like me, who cares nothing about being on social media whatsoever, it is a fascinating look behind the curtains. So much fakeness and pretending, all for the sake of getting likes and comments. The idea that you can buy followers and likes and comments is simply astounding to me. We are told that even Kim Kardashian, queen of Instagram with 150+ million followers, relies on tens of millions of fake followers (bots). The very best of this documentary comes in the last 15 min. when it becomes clear what becomes of the three random picks to become a "famous influencer", and, equally fascinating, the unexpected impact of COVID-19 on "famous influencers". Bottom line: I ended up enjoying this documentary far more than I had expected. And frankly it exposes Instagram fame for what it really is (hint: look at the documentary's title).

"Fake Famous" recently premiered on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming platforms. Regardless of whether you yourself are on social media or not, if you have any interest in or curiosity about what really goes on in the Instagram fame universe, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

...if this isn't the premise for a major network reality competition show within a year. The Next Top Star Influencer hosted by Nick Cannon. I fear for all of us.

There is something seriously wrong with our society lately...and this documentary highlights part of the reason why.

I like to think of the world as before the internet, and after the internet. Before the internet, society was much much better....people were "normal" ..friendly...neighborly....people did things outside with friends and family...met people in person...went out on dates....Now? People have their phones on for hours upon hours a day with no human interaction....people live in a make believe world....and most people are screwed up and on anti depressants or anxiety drugs., or a combo of both..

I feel sorry for the generation growing up today, and for all generations coming after....Growing up in the 80s and 90s was so great...I'm glad I got to experience normal life before the internet....because life today, is anything but normal for most people....So do yourself a favor, GET OFF YOUR RIGHT PHONE NOW AND EXPERIENCE REAL LIFE WITH REAL PEOPLE....There is SO much more to life than your phone...

I decided to play a drinking game where I would take a shot every time one of the talentless aspiring influencer-to-be people said the word 'like'. I had to be rushed to emergency after 11 minutes because I had alcohol poisoning.

Interesting documentary that let you see the fake world many of these sad people pretend to enjoy, but as sad as they are, I feel sorry for the millions of followers whose dreams are to become like them.

What a sad, sad world people who inhabit social media live in.

Dominique you should see more Merry Streep, your comment was wrong, you will benefit a lot if you do like her

It's amazing how hard people are working to not have to work a real job. This doc cuts right into the heart of it and shows social media for what it's always been, a farce. While it starts slow, it gets pretty interesting 30mins in and has some interesting twists and turns. Ironically, one of the influencers they used in their stock footage (not the three chosen) actually lives in my building. Never knew until we saw it.....hilarious.

This documentary ought to be shown in schools. It is a must-see for anyone who doesn't already understand how fake Instagram culture can be.

The film has a simple concept: pick three random people who would love to be famous, and then fake it till they make it. The moral of the story is that, in the world of Instagram influencers, faking it and making it are actually the same thing.

Ever wonder if Instagram Reality isn't really, in fact, reality? If all of the houses and Rolls Royces and Bentleys are just rentals? Or that social media is infested with bots, fakes, purchased likes, and vapid people?

Well this documentary lets you know that it SURPRISE it's mostly probably fake!

The film is well shot but honestly a waste of an hour and a half. The "social experiment" is completely predictable and uninteresting. The "experts" presented aren't really such and just come across as buddies of the director.

It would have been far more interesting to include actual experts on a field such as human psychology and explore why this phenomenon occurs, or follow and expose purported stars, rather than building up one. Again. SURPRISE! You can spend a few bucks, get some bots, and very marginally advance your acting/modeling career.

Just not that interesting in the end.

In Adam Curtis's documentary "The Century of Self" he tracked the rise of selfishness from the hippie movement to the Reagan revolution, but this generation of self obsessed narcissist have taken things to a new level.

I want to give my honest opinion on this movie. I gave it 10 stars because not only was it entertaining, but it was something most people would never think of. I love social experiment films, and this one really stands out. I was hoping to see better reviews. It's very informative, too. I learned many things I didn't know. The man who wrote and directed this film is incredible and I was so pleased. I recommend this film to those who are available to watch it...you won't regret it!

This documentary was made with one goal in mind, which is paint influencers as fake. Nothing else was important. Because of this, it focusses on a small subset of influencers and makes a bunch of statements that claim to be universal. The "experiment" (barely worth the title of experiment) was done in the most random, unstructured way and nothing of note was realised. Sources and studies were not properly acredited so claims were made with no real evidence. Instead of focussing on the true downsides of influencers and online fame, it became a repeated narrative of bashing anything related to influencers, rather than providing anything of value.

Interesting idea, just OK execution and great message.

First, the documentary tries hard to deliver a clear message and it does.

Second, the execution is not great but enough to understand how social media works and how you can fake to be famous.

Last, the final message is the greatest thing here. Nowadays, millions of people tries to be "someone" just doing "anything" to be loved by milions of unknown & fake people on social media. Unbelievable but real.

To add, it's an eye opener for those who believe on everything you watch from "influencers" on social networks, it's real. No it's not. Stop making famous, not talented people or fake ones.

Ultimatlly, something is really, really wrong with our education system. And that is the start only.......the rest you know it.

Fake Famous is a perfect eye opener about the influencer phenomenon in our social media. Nick Bilton literally walks us through how to become "fake famous". Bilton's views seem a bit cynical about it all because the 'like' and 'comment' tracking aspects of social media accounts as well as the number of 'followers' someone has can be bought on the Internet...just like anything else these days. So, yes, that aspect of being an influencer is fake because many of the accounts have followers, likes and comments that are not real people, they are computer generated by 'bots'. He explains it all very well and clearly and it is very interesting while not being too heavy.

It is a lot of work to create the images a successful influencer uses on their site. In addition, every image or remark one makes as an influencer is raked through the mill of followers and other viewers. The trolls can take a toll on you with nasty remarks or just creepy comments. Perhaps unintentionally, Bilton learns this first hand when two of the subjects he selected from thousands of applicants seem to crack under the pressure of what it takes to be an influencer, the stigma they felt growing amongst their IRL friends and by taking the trolls to heart. Unintended consequences indeed.

The one remaining subject of the experiment, Dominique, really makes the movie a pleasure to watch and she started to get pretty good at being an influencer. Not only did she become fake famous, she started to gain more real followers and after seeing her in this film I think she may become actually famous. She is funny, pretty, smart and obviously a hard worker.

I recommend Fake Famous...a must to anyone that has a social media account...that's pretty much everyone!

It seems like Nick Bilton was more focused on how his own experiment affected himself rather than the test subjects...

This was an amazing production by Nick Bilton; a fun and entertaining ride throughout, while also thought provoking and challenging to our common perceptions of Social Influencers.

I was so very surprised to see lackluster reviews by mainstream media, given the production was truly awesome and entertaining throughout. The seemingly self-serving "lessoning" of Fake Famous through mainstream media criticism raises eyebrows, causing viewers to question why the film would receive negative feedback?

Perhaps that question is partially answered in the film itself, given mainstream media is partially to blame for the inauthentic embracing of bot-created Social Influencers, as accepted practice.

Regardless, the film is personal, at times laugh-out-loud funny, emotional, thought provoking, and just entertaining overall.

At no point during this film did I catch myself looking at my watch, or thinking about other things I needed to be doing. For the purpose of captivating viewers and holding their attention for the full 90 minutes, Fake Famous does an excellent job.

In addition, during the first part of the movie, as viewers get to know the main characters (AKA: "Would Be Social Influencers"), I definitely caught myself thinking how unauthentic each seemed in their "do anything" approaches and desires to achieve fame. However, as the film continues on, viewers get to know each of the three Social Influencers and see their own struggles to understand and truly comprehend the social impact of their growing social status.

By the end of the film, viewers definitely empathize with each of the characters, seeing their goodness as they grapple with their growing popularity and their own personal sense, and desire for, authenticity.

Fake Famous is an amazing production that will leave viewers entertained and smiling, while also asking deeper questions about the content we consume daily through social media.

Absolutely 10 Stars to Nick Bilton, cast, and crew for Fake Famous.

Wonderful production!!!

This is a good idea with a film but I'm not sure this one did the subject justice.

You have a lot of talking heads going over the same ground and none of them tell you anything involving or that you didn't already know.

I think it needed a little more direction and/or a more digging into the companies that facilitate this. I'd hoped for more.

I found this documentary very informative and interesting. I loved following the 3 actors and seeing how they handled the different situations, I also enjoyed learning more about the industry from the professionals that they interviewed. A must see for anyone who uses social media.

Very difficult to get through this docu owing to the simple fact that social media wannabes all seem to be dumb as a post and have all the worst personality traits, wish people could just be more down to earth and leave the fart sniffing to hollywood.

The documentary gave intelligent insight into the ridiculous phenomenon that is social influencing. The fact that the subjects (Chris, Wylie & Dominique) were so real was an effectively striking contrast to the fake world they entered in this social experiment. In addition to being informative and entertaining, I hope "Fake Famous" will also make people think about the time and resources that are being diverted from more meaningful aspects of life. I wish young Chris, Wylie & Dominique much success and happiness in all of their future endeavors and thank them for being honest about their feelings in a most vulnerable scenario.

The filmmaker clearly went into this wanting to tell a specific narrative and then picked out bits and pieces to fit that narrative without making a genuine attempt to understand influencers or the systems they exist in. From the very start he makes the claim that everybody wants to be famous and this is framed as a relatively new thing. He also makes a distinction between fame from acting/music/sports and fame from being an influencer, but does not really expand on this. And the issue with the whole thing is that "influencer" is such a broad term and this is very briefly explored but mostly ignored. The only evidence given for the "everybody wants to be famous thing" is a survey which apparently showed that more children said they wanted to be influencers when they grow up. I have no clue what the results of this survey have been in the past or what the sample was. Also, this was filmed in LA, so yes, obviously in LA it seems like everyone wants to be famous. The whole documentary and the experiment especially is super unscientific. It reminded me of those YouTube social experiments that were really popular in like 2013. I would've loved a genuine look at influencers (different kinds, different motivations, etc.) There are definitely valid criticisms of influencer culture but those should critique tech companies as well as influencers. All the reveals about how fake social media is are already generally well known. This mostly just felt kinda moral panicky.