Audience capture

Audience capture is the phenomenon where an influencer is affected by their audience, catering to it with what they believe it wants to hear. This creates a positive feedback loop, which can lead the influencer to express more extreme views and behaviors.

An famous example of audience capture can be found in the story of the online influencer Nicholas Perry, known as Nikocado Avocado. Perry started off on YouTube with videos of himself playing the violin and supporting veganism. He then shifted to videos of himself eating known as mukbang. Audience capture led him to more and more extreme eating leading him in turn to obesity and poor health.^[1]

The term was coined by Eric Weinstein in 2018.^[2]