This article examines the role of influencers during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of the global pandemic on Social Media Influencers’ (SMIs) lifestyle and business model, using the concept of Disaster Capitalism as a springboard for discussion. Worldwide it first appeared that the global pandemic would severely impact SMI sole traders, as income from travel, luxury goods and other ‘lifestyle’ brands dried up. However, we suggest that brands and influencers themselves have pivoted to meet the COVID challenge, with some brands exploiting the opaque influence of these micro-celebrities. We further suggest that while a handful of governments and health organisations have recognised the reach and social capital of SMIs, their potential in health communication has been underutilised. We write this essay as a starting point, raising questions and calling for further research to be conducted to inform the understanding of SMIs’ role and potential as conveyors of public health information.

中文翻译：

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利用混乱——探索全球大流行初期社交媒体影响者参与的影响和未来

本文以灾难资本主义的概念为跳板，探讨了影响者在 COVID-19 大流行早期的作用，以及全球大流行对社交媒体影响者 (SMI) 生活方式和商业模式的影响。讨论。在全球范围内，随着来自旅游、奢侈品和其他“生活方式”品牌的收入枯竭，全球流行病首次似乎将严重影响 SMI 个体经营者。但是，我们建议品牌和有影响力的人本身已经转向迎接 COVID 挑战，一些品牌利用这些微名人的不透明影响。我们进一步建议，虽然少数政府和卫生组织已经认识到 SMI 的影响力和社会资本，但它们在健康传播方面的潜力并未得到充分利用。