A Marketplace of Girl Influencers Managed by Moms and Stalked by Men. This is the title of a recent investigation by journalists from The New York Times. It sheds light on a sometimes controversial sub-group of influencers, who are often not even ten years old. Together with their parents, they form a family-run marketing machine. How did this phenomena come to be? And how can we mitigate the risks?

We discuss these and more questions with Liselot Hudders, associate professor of marketing communication and consumer behavior at Ghent University. 

Each Sunday, Highlight presents a concise interview with scientists and academics about issues that drive the news. It's made for forward-looking people who want to make informed decisions.

The author of Highlight is a journalist Jiri Svoboda. You can contact him at [email protected] or on X and Instagram: @_jirisvo_