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A new survey found that 57% of Gen Zers said they would quit their day job to become an influencer if given the chance, which a brand expert translated to mean that more than half of the coming-of-age respondents “believe people can easily make a career in influencing.”

Decision intelligence company Morning Consult released its September 2023 brand report, which, after surveying over 2,200 US adults and Gen Zers aged 13 to 26 who are active on social media, concluded that “consumer behaviors and attitudes may be constantly evolving, but the allure of influencers and the draw of becoming one! remains notable.”

Nearly 60% of respondents in Generation Z — who were born between 1997 and 2012 — said they would take the job of social media influencer over their current gig, while 41% of adults would opt for the role, which sees people earning money to post photos and videos endorsing a product or service.

Of those Gen Zers, 53% believe being an influencer is a reputable career choice, and three in 10 teens and young adults even said they would pay to become an influencer.

For Gen Zers who would become influencers, 22% said they would post about gaming, while 10% fantasize about endorsing beauty and skincare products.

Young people said they’d be least interested in being an influencer with a niche in drinking, home design, politics or social causes, the Morning Consult survey found.

Most adults, meanwhile, don’t know what they would post about, followed by 13% that said they would create food content and 8% who would share posts on music.

Ellyn Briggs, a brands analyst at Morning Consult, told CNBC that TikTok makes influencing seem like a more plausible career than ever thanks to its “no-frills, direct-to-cam and low-editing content.”

TikTok has “broadened the amount of people who feel influencing is accessible to them,” Briggs added, who said the survey results show Gen Zers “believe people can easily make a career in influencing.”

Briggs attributed young people’s desire to influence to the ability to make money, work flexible hours and do fun tasks.

And as an interest in becoming an influencer has grown, so has social media users’ trust in the online endorsers.

A staggering 61% of Gen Z and millennial survey respondents said they trust social media influencers — an increase from the 51% that trusted these highly-followed users in 2019.

Gen Zers don’t appear deterred by the “not insignificant amount of content creator controversies” that have gone viral or gotten users cancelled in recent years, Briggs said.

Among the most prominent influencers to fall victim to cancel culture include James Charles, Jeffree Star and Jenna Marbles.

Charles, and ultra-popular beauty YouTuber, was temporarily blocked from monetizing his content on the video-sharing site back in 2021 after it was alleged that he, then 21, used his status on the site to bait and groom minors, including two 16-year-old boys who say they engaged in direct message conversations.

Star — who started his social media career out on MySpace before launching a YouTube channel in 2006 to post makeup tutorials — was cancelled in 2020whenInsiderinvestigated claims that Star drugged men.

And Jenna Marbles, formally known as Jenna Mourey, peaked at over 20 million YouTube subscribers before yanking her channel from the platform following allegations of blackface in 2020.

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Crypto firms to see more enforcement actions within 2 years — CFTC chair

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Crypto firms to see more enforcement actions within 2 years — CFTC chair

Rostin Behnam said that “without a regulatory framework,” regulators would continue pursuing crypto firms to protect investors from potential fraud and manipulation.

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US soldier detained in Russia, officials say

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US soldier detained in Russia, officials say

A US soldier was detained in Russia over the weekend while on a private trip, according to officials.

The soldier, who hasn’t been named, has been accused of stealing from a woman, Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News, reported, citing four US officials.

The White House is aware of reports of an American soldier being detained in Russia, national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.

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The soldier was arrested in the port city of Vladivostok on 2 May, “on charges of criminal misconduct,” US army spokesperson Cynthia O Smith said.

He had reportedly been stationed in South Korea and travelled to Russia for a personal trip and not on official duty, according to the US officials.

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“The Russian Federation notified the US Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Ms Smith said.

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“The army notified his family and the US Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia.

“Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”

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Boeing facing fresh probe after employees ‘falsely claim tests had been completed’

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Boeing facing fresh probe after employees 'falsely claim tests had been completed'

Federal air safety regulators have opened a fresh investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – after the firm said several employees had committed “misconduct” by falsely claiming tests had been completed.

The probe will look into whether Boeing completed inspections to confirm adequate bonding and grounding where the wings of certain 787 Dreamliner planes join the fuselage, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

The investigation will also look at “whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records”, the US federal government agency added.

The FAA said Boeing is “reinspecting all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet” while the investigation is taking place.

Boeing shares were down 1.5% at $177.03 late on Monday afternoon.

‘Several people not performing required test’

In an email from 29 April, Scott Stocker, who leads Boeing’s 787 program, said that an employee saw what appeared to be an irregularity in a required 787 conformance test.

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Mr Stocker wrote that after receiving the report “we quickly reviewed the matter and learned that several people had been violating company policies by not performing a required test, but recording the work as having been completed”.

In the email, addressed to employees in South Carolina where the 787 is assembled, Mr Stocker said Boeing promptly informed the FAA about what it had learned and said it is taking serious corrective action with “multiple” employees.

He added that “our engineering team has assessed that this misconduct did not create an immediate safety of flight issue”.

‘They are putting out defective airplanes’

It comes weeks after a Congressional investigation in April heard evidence on the safety culture and manufacturing standards at Boeing.

Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at the company, told members of a Senate subcommittee that Boeing was taking shortcuts to bolster production levels that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.

He said of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which has more than 1,000 in use across airlines globally including at British Airways, that excessive force was used to jam together sections of fuselage.

He claimed the extra force could compromise the carbon-composite material used for the plane’s frame.

They are putting out defective airplanes,” he concluded, while adding that he was threatened when he raised concerns about the issue.

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Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testifies during the Senate homeland security subcommittee hearing. Pic: AP
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Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testifies during the Senate homeland security subcommittee hearing. Pic: AP

The engineer said he studied Boeing’s own data and concluded that the company is “taking manufacturing shortcuts on the 787 programme that could significantly reduce the airplanes’ safety and the life cycle”.

Boeing denied his claims surrounding both the Dreamliner’s structural integrity and that factory workers jumped on sections of fuselage to force them to align.

Two Boeing engineering executives said this week that its testing and inspections regimes have found no signs of fatigue or cracking in the composite panels, saying they were almost impervious to fatigue.

Boeing has been grappling with a months-long safety crisis since a panel blew out of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane mid-flight in January.

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the mid-air emergency.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said four key bolts appeared to be missing from the plane.

Boeing has said it believes required documents detailing the removal of the bolts were never created.

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