A Lifestyle Influencer Is Suing Another Content Creator For Allegedly Copying Her Aesthetic, Suggesting Influencer Culture Could Be On The Brink Of A Big Change
As someone who has grown up in the digital age and watched being an influencer go from a hobby to a paying job, I realize how important certain social media posts are for those people.
The influencer culture, as we know it, could be on the brink of a significant change. A lawsuit has been filed by one influencer against another, alleging that her competitor has been imitating her style and, thereby, affecting her income.
Sydney Gifford is a 24-year-old content creator and lifestyle influencer. She has a lot going on in her life, as she’s expecting a baby with her fiancé and recently moved from Texas to her home state, Minnesota. She is also in the middle of dealing with an ongoing lawsuit.
There is another influencer online named Alyssa Sheil, who is 21 and creates lifestyle and fashion content. She is based in Austin, Texas.
Sydney and Alyssa have a large following, but Sydney has the largest, with her TikTok follower count of over 538,000 and Alyssa’s 277,000.
Sydney’s aesthetic and the look of her content are fairly minimalist, with many grey and neutral tones. The fashion she posts is quite classy and subtle, with a bit of a southern and feminine flare.
Alyssa’s content is very similar, but Sydney began noticing that it wasn’t purely coincidental anymore; it was straight-up copying.
While it’s common for influencers to have similar-looking homes, outfits, and aesthetics because they follow what’s trending, internet users can be quick to spot posts that could be considered copying or “stealing.”
According to court documents, Sydney and Alyssa met in Austin in person in 2022 to make some business arrangements and support one another.
ANR Production – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
However, it only took a few months after that meeting for Sydney to notice that Alyssa was posting content that looked just like hers.
There were allegedly at least 30 posts from Alyssa in 2023 that had identical products, styling, angles, and captions or texts.
Additionally, a few of Alyssa’s Instagram posts, some of which have since been deleted, show her wearing outfits almost identical to Sydney’s, with only an accessory or two being different.
Sydney claims in court documents that several videos on Alyssa’s account mimicked hers, from the camera angles to the location where they were filmed.
Another issue for Sydney was how Alyssa allegedly had an extremely similar Amazon Storefront, which is a platform many influencers use to make money through commissions.
Court documents showed that Alyssa had many of the same items on her Amazon Storefront as Sydney and posted videos from the same locations, trying to promote similar shops and products.
Sydney eventually hired a legal team to deal with the copying situation, and according to court documents, they sent several cease and desist letters to Alyssa. At the same time, Sydney contacted social media platforms, allegedly encouraging them to remove any identical posts.
Sydney claims the copying on Alyssa’s end did not stop, and she filed a lawsuit in April, suing Alyssa for copyright infringement.
According to Sydney’s team, she hopes the lawsuit will result in Alyssa being barred from copying any more of her content.
Alyssa’s lawyer released a statement after news of the lawsuit broke, saying she strongly denies the copyright infringement allegations and that since she and Sydney were two influencers living in the same area, it shouldn’t be considered copying if they get asked to promote the same brands or end up filming in the same locations.
There’s no doubt that if this lawsuit continues to be carried out and Sydney wins, it could change the way influencers create content for the foreseeable future, as it may become nearly impossible to post pictures, videos, and product promotions that are considered original.
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More About:Beauty & Style
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