Influencers are hiring private investigators to unmask anonymous online trolls
Australian influencer Indy Clinton, who boasts 2.1 million TikTok followers and was crowned Creator of the Year in 2023, posted a seemingly typical video yesterday of herself dancing in her kitchen. At first glance, it appeared no different from her usual content—until viewers read the on-screen text.
'How it feels receiving a 64 page report from my PI [private investigator] after an extensive 3 month investigation on all my ladies (mothers) who have continuously bullied, defamed & trolled me and my family for months n moths & even years,' the text read. 'Change is coming. and I will spend my last dollars to make change before I renovate my bathroom,' she wrote in the caption, with the hashtag #urnotanonymous.
Clinton's comments were soon flooded with support from fellow influencers, many praising her for taking action. Some even asked for the contact details of her private investigator. The trolls, on the other hand, were conspicuously absent. 'It's literally nothing but crickets in this comment section from all the haters,' one commenter wrote. 'I would pay to see the reaction of those people when they found out that they're not so anonymous,' another added.
On her Instagram Story, Clinton claimed she now knows specific details about her trolls — including where they live, their Australian Business Numbers, and even the tattoos they got at 18. But what surprised her most: many of the trolls were fellow mothers. (Fast Company has reached out to Clinton for comment.)
If you're wondering who actually has the time or energy to troll influencers online, the scale of the problem may surprise you. Manychat, a leading chat marketing platform, surveyed 974 Americans in May 2025 about online behavior. The results: 61% admitted to making offensive jokes or comments online, and 3 in 5 confessed to spreading rumors. More than 3 in 4 believed their online actions have no real-world consequences—despite research linking online harassment to anxiety, sleep disruption, and suicidal thoughts.
Fast Company has previously reported on the internet's so-called snarking problem, with entire subreddits devoted to obsessively dissecting—and critiquing—influencers' every move. The internet's promise of anonymity has long made trolls feel untouchable. In fact, 84% of those surveyed said they feel more empowered to speak freely online when anonymous.
But with influencers now taking matters into their own hands, the tide may be turning. Just last week, the anonymous founder of Tattle Life—a British gossip forum often described as 'the most hate-filled corner of the web'—was revealed to be an influencer himself. The unmasking followed a two-year investigation led by Neil and Donna Sands, who successfully sued the site for defamation. 'The internet is not an anonymous place,' they posted on Instagram while sharing the news.
The comments section is awfully quiet right now.
The final deadline for Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech Awards is Friday, June 20, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
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