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That social media flex isn’t always worth it in the end. Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who is known on social media as Ray Hushpuppi, has officially been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being charged for his role in a multimillion-dollar scam geared toward companies both in the United States and overseas, CNN reports.
In this case, the influence that comes with being a social media influencer can be detrimental to a person’s social life. According to the New York Post, Eva Lopez is suing the NYPD “for defamation, libel, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence” after the police used her photo on a wanted poster for a robbery. After a friend contacted Lopez about the situation at hand, she soon learned that she was a wanted woman, which she notes left her in disbelief. “I thought it was something fake,” said the Instagram influencer, who also happens to be a native of Queens. “I really couldn’t believe the police would put me on a wanted poster.”
Seeing a Black woman break into the tech industry is always an accomplishment to celebrate, but what makes the win even more major is how they lift up others along with them. In the age of social media, the underrepresented group is not only sharing their experiences in their fields but also using their platforms to create a domino effect of Black talent going from sending in their resumes to signing job offer letters. Here are 10 Black women tech influencers who are working with big names like Google, Meta, and Microsoft that are teaching the ins and outs of the industry to help bring more of the community on board.
Kenyan-based startup Wowzi — created to transform social media users into brand influencers — has secured $3.2 million in its latest seed round. TechCrunch reports the round was led by Africa-focused venture capital firm 4DX Ventures. Participating investors were To.org, Golden Palm Investments, LoftyInc Capital, Afropreneur Angels, and Future Africa. Andela co-founder Christina Sass, and former Andela executives Jessica Chervin, Justin Ziegler, as well as Johnny Falla, who is currently the chief development and growth officer at Wowzi, also participated. The new funds will spearhead operations in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa to fulfill the company’s goal to expand beyond their current scope of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. “We are primarily focused on expanding across Africa in 2022 and in other emerging markets globally,” Wowzi co-founder and CEO Brian Mogeni said, according to TechCrunch. “We are also adding new product capabilities and features, as we continue to develop our...
Before the world recognized social media as a lucrative industry, influencers — before the proper term was coined — were stigmatized across platforms for choosing a field that wasn’t considered a “real” career. Lifestyle influencer and mother JaLisa Vaughn-Jefferson experienced this firsthand from her own family after she left her corporate job to pursue her new passion as a full-time content creator. “They lost it,” the influencer tells AfroTech after breaking the news of her decision. “It was so funny because they were trying so hard to be supportive. For their generation [this field] just doesn’t make sense. [At first] I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I was prepared to just try out different careers. I knew I wanted to be in technology and I knew I loved social media, but I wasn’t sure what the exact job title would be.”
The world of social media has grown to become an interesting place for influencers, where they can build communities and become their own business-owners. While some people establish careers as influencers with intention, others like Marley Mauvais stumble into it accidentally. But carving her own lane in the digital social space has allowed her to create an unconventional, yet successful brand through fruit content creation. Mauvais — a plant-based content creator and self-proclaimed fruit influencer from New Jersey — like many young people struggled to figure out what her career path would be after college. Even after earning a bachelor of science degree in entrepreneurship from Long Island University, she still hadn’t figured out if running a business was meant for her. “I always knew I was an entrepreneur,” she tells AfroTech, but after her first business flopped she moved back home to take a year off to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. At that same time, she...
It looks like this Instagram influencer’s lavish lifestyle has cost him his freedom. Ray Hushpuppi, born Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, is a Nigerian National and up against a world of trouble after he pleaded guilty on April 20 to money laundering scams. Hushpuppi used his platform to allegedly take advantage of his followers by luring them into scams that involved cyber and business email compromise schemes as well as a school financing scam. According to reports, the criminal complaint against Ray Hushpuppi reveals that he was behind an elaborate scheme to steal more than $1.1 million from a businessperson who attempted to pay for the construction of a school for children in Qatar. “The defendants allegedly faked the financing of a Qatari school by playing the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website in a scheme that also bribed a foreign official to keep the elaborate pretense going after the victim was tipped off,” said Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison in a...
Last year marked a pivotal moment in time for change and equality, specifically for Black communities. The happenings in the digital space and social media have shown us the importance of amplifying Black creators and influencers who are often overlooked. Now thanks to companies like Fanbytes, we’ll be able to break the cycle of underrepresentation in creative industries. According to AdWeek, the London-based influencer marketer agency — launched by CEO and founder Timothy Armoo in 2017 — was created to help big brands discover new interactive ways to engage with Gen Z audiences around the world. With initiatives like the Fanbytes Impact Fund, the goal for Fanbytes is to now help Black-owned businesses get the funding they need as well as help Black creators gain more visibility in mainstream spaces. “What happened with George Floyd, it made me realize even more that I had this platform and I had a responsibility to do something,” Armoo told the outlet. “And I didn’t want to just do...
A new law passed in Norway puts forth a very interesting social media rule. The law — which was passed earlier this month in the Norwegian Parliament— requires social media influencers to disclose whether they’ve manipulated the image in any way before posting. The Hill reports that this law was passed in an effort to combat body image issues faced by young people in the country today. If the photo has “a body’s shape, size or skin has been changed by retouching or other manipulation,” it must be marked as edited, according to Norway’s new legislation. What’s more, the new Norway law stipulates that celebrities and influencers must disclose if they were paid for the post, regardless of whether the photo in question was edited. “The measure will hopefully make a useful and significant contribution to curbing the negative impact that such advertising has, especially on children and young people,” said the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family, in a statement provided to Vice. The...
Alfluence, a Kenya-based influencer marketing platform, has announced that it has secured $1 million in seed funding. TechCrunch is reporting that the company, which was founded by Nelson Aseka, George Issaias, Lamusia Anzaya, and Ankit Jindal in 2019, had the funding led by the Dubai-based company EQ2 Ventures. Other investors include Antler East Africa, Oui Capital, ArabyAds, and an unnamed European family office. “We are at the cusp of a revolution. Globally the way marketing works is changing. We find ourselves at an intersection of advanced technology and the fastest-growing region in the world in terms of digital and social media penetration. It’s an exciting place to be. Africa’s rich tradition for storytelling is alive and kicking,” said Aseka, the CEO of Alfluence, in a statement made to TechCrunch. “People are the new media in today’s digital world, and AIfluence is uniquely positioned to turn this reality into tangible results for advertisers. We’ve been impressed by the...
When people mention social media influencer Ari Fletcher, they miss the chance to highlight how she’s a multi-million dollar entrepreneur. But the young internet figure has found a way to make the social game a lucrative business to build her own wealth. Contrary to popular belief, Ari Fletcher is more than the mother of rapper G Herbo’s son. She’s also one of a few Black influencers who helped change the social media space so its platforms can help its most popular users generate millions of dollars in revenue. In case you’re not familiar already, get to know Ari Fletcher and her life as a businesswoman with a few fun facts below: Her social media handles are a tribute to her late brother. After her brother passed away in 2013, Fletcher changed all of her social media handles in honor of his name, Kyle Jamison. Including his name on all of her social media profiles is her way of keeping his name alive. View this post on Instagram A post shared by KYLESISTER (@therealkylesister)...