Business
Virtual Influencers Make Real Money While Covid Locks Down Human Stars
The pandemic isn’t a problem when you’re computer-generated.
Virtual influencers were already gaining, well, influence long before Covid-19 struck.
Seraphine’s flowing pink hair and cat-themed Instagram posts had attracted thousands of fans when the news that she was created by Riot Games Inc. — the studio behind smash-hit esports game League of Legends — sent her account viral. Now her follower count is nearly 400,000 and she’s making appearances in Shanghai to promote her music, while most flesh-and-blood social-media stars are stuck at home. Despite not being real, she still sometimes wears a mask.