What it’s like to be a YouTube “reply girl”

A few months back, you might remember we did a piece on the rise of YouTube’s “reply girls,” a number of users who managed to game the YouTube popularity system to help drive traffic and ad money from their clips. (Well, at least for a while … the algorithm eventually got changed.) The most well-known, Alejandra Gaitan, who literally goes by “The Reply Girl,” is extremely disliked and unpopular — especially by other reply girls. Above is an interview with Gaitan that Vice did which proves to be extremely insightful into why she chose her current route and her somewhat dark backstory. Also worth reading: The Daily Dot’s take on the matter, which notes that Gaitan’s looking to move into a money-making realm that’s a tad less fraught with hatred. (Warning: NSFW language)