The strange world of Influencer VPN ads

A deep dive on Influencer VPN ads. What they say, what they don't say, and why they exist in the first place.
Paper: ieeexplore.iee...
Abstract:
One widespread, but frequently overlooked, source of security information is influencer marketing ads on RUclips for security and privacy products such as VPNs. This paper examines how widespread these ads are, where on RUclips they are found, and what kind of information they convey. Starting from a random sample of 1.4% of RUclips, we identify 243 videos containing VPN ads with a total of 63 million views. Using qualitative analysis, we find that these ads commonly discuss broad security guarantees as well as specific technical features, frequently focus on internet threats, and sometimes emphasize accessing otherwise unavailable content. Different VPN companies tend to advertise in different categories of channels and emphasize different messages. We find a number of potentially misleading claims, including overpromises and exaggerations that could negatively influence viewers’ mental models of internet safety.
Authors: Omer Akgul; Richard Roberts; Moses Namara; Dave Levin; Michelle L. Mazurek
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[@mk677hd]

69th Like. Nice.

[@kemalatayev]

This is great stuff! Excellent work.

[@joshismyhandle]

Thanks for putting the word out, fellas. Doing god’s work