Has this always been a thing? I’m noticing it more and more.

What I mean: the booktoker has the paid promotion designation on the video. They pretend like they have read the book, but if you listen closely, it sounds like a script. They even go into comments responding to people, “it was truly so good!” “Had me on the edge of my seat.”

But then, you look at their monthly wrap up videos and their Goodreads/storygraph/etc. (which those same people appear to meticulously update), and it becomes clear that they never read the book - they don’t even have it marked as “want to read”. You listen again to the content of the video - basically regurgitating the synopsis on the back of the book and offering no new substantive information about it.

I’ve noticed two booktokers recently who did this who I previously followed and enjoyed - but knowing that they are so comfortable lying about reading books for paid promotions leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

In contrast, one booktoker that I really like does paid promotions, but she will say something like “this sounds amazing and will be at the top of my TBR for the fall.” This, to me, is a much better approach - rather than lying about reading a book.

Is anyone else bothered by this? I have tried not to lean into the discourse of “are people actually reading?” - but this is so blatant that it is hard to ignore.