{
  "id": 19992541,
  "title": "‘Don’t lie to me to get free stuff’: how small businesses are fighting back against influencers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/dont-lie-to-me-to-get-free-stuff-how-small-businesses-are-fighting",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-14T12:00:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/nov/14/small-businesses-fighting-back-influencers-behaving-badly"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Brews and Mews, a cat cafe in North Carolina, faced a confrontation with an influencer on a March morning. The influencer had taken her child there for a visit, only to be denied entry due to visiting hours. The influencer then began bargaining with the cafe's staff for access, while her child cried. Flanagin, the cafe owner, reviewed security footage and found no evidence of a tantrum or unruly behavior. The influencer later deleted her review and apologized, but Flanagin still felt her business had been unfairly attacked. This incident is part of a larger issue where small business owners are growing frustrated with influencers who lie or exaggerate to gain free products or reviews. The influencer economy is worth billions, and influencers can have a significant impact on a business's sales. However, some business owners are taking action, such as banning influencers or using their own footage to prove the influencers wrong.",
  "summary": "From diva-like behaviour to freebie requests that never result in a review, ‘entitled’ content creators are a growing blight on small-business owners. Now entrepreneurs are calling them out Nicole Flanagin remembers exactly the moment an influencer came after her business. It was the early hours of a March morning and the cat cafe owner in Lenoir, North Carolina, got a message. “At 1.37,” she…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}