INFLUENCERS
Kat Tenbarge
The Influencer Watchdog DERVL A M C NE I CE
It’s 1:45 a.m. on March 22, 2021, and YouTuber David Dobrik sits alone on the floor of his mansion to film his first apology video for his role in the 2018 rape and sexual misconduct allegations against his Vlog Squad member “Durte Dom.” A week earlier, the allegations emerged and Dobrik promptly lost 13 lucrative brand deals from companies such as HelloFresh, Dollar Shave Club and EA, each known for their frequent partnerships with content creators. The fallout would continue as the YouTube star lost 300,000 followers, was forced to step down from his photography startup, Dispo, and cut ties with LA’s Angel City Football Club, of which he was co-owner. The journalist who broke this story and brought the victims’ experiences to the forefront was Kat Tenbarge. As a senior reporter at Insider tasked with holding influencers accountable, Tenbarge had already broken some of the biggest influencer-related scandals of the previous year: sexual assault (and subsequent accuser pay-off ) allegations against makeup mogul Jeffree Star and allegations from beauty
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RELEVANCE REPORT 2021-22
YouTuber James Charles’ ex-employee of wrongful termination and non-payment. These, among countless other stories, earned her the title and reputation of the Influencer Watchdog. Her journalistic career began in politics. But after having been selected as a 2018 White House Correspondents' Association Scholar, she became disillusioned by this path and began to wonder how she could combine her personal passion for YouTube with her fascination of burgeoning influencer culture into an innovative beat. When she joined Insider out of college, they were open to the idea that an audience existed at the intersection of creator culture, fan culture and accountability. Taking inspiration from traditional political watchdog journalism, she brings investigative techniques to this new economy in a way that has a never been done before. In 2019, 38% of U.S. CEOs said that influencers would be the most valuable communication strategy for their companies
