THIRTIETH DAY

Home Office must help woman unfairly deported to Uganda to return to UK

High court judge rules that gay asylum seeker who feared persecution in Uganda should
have been allowed to remain
The Home Office has been ordered to help a woman deported to Uganda six years ago to return
to Britain after a high court judge ruled that the handling of her case was “procedurally unfair”.
If the judgment stands, the woman may become the first deportee whose case was processed
through fast-track rules operational between 2005 and 2015 to return to the UK and appeal
against the decision to deport her.
The ruling could encourage similar appeals from thousands of people whose asylum claims were
treated under the same system.
Movement for Justice, a human rights group helping to support the woman in Uganda, said the
Home Office was likely to appeal against the court’s decision. Government lawyers sought
“permission to appeal” following the verdict on 26 June, a move rejected by the judge within 24
hours. The government could now take the case to an appeal court, to block the woman’s return.
The woman, referred to in court documents as “PN”, cannot be named because her sexuality
exposes her to serious risk of persecution in Uganda, where she now lives.
Human rights campaigners said the Home Office may have exposed PN to years of ill-treatment
by sending her back to Uganda, where LGBTQ people face extreme violence.
The verdict came as Pride festivals and parades, celebrating the LGBTQ community, began
around the world. In London on Tuesday, 10 Downing Street decorated its front door with an arch
of rainbow-coloured flowers in support.
The ruling brought fresh embarrassment for the Home Office, which has been beleaguered by a
series of accusations of overzealous deportations and doublespeak relating to its treatment of
members of the LGBTQ community.
On Thursday, UK Black Pride issued a statement saying it was removing the stalls of the Home
Office and the National Crime Agency from its event on Sunday. A statement said the decision
was made in light of “continued discrimination against the communities we represent, and the
work we and other organisations connected to us do in support of LGBTQ refugees and asylum
seekers”.
The fast-track appeals system introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2005 gave appellants just
14 days to gather evidence for their claims to asylum in the UK.
The system was introduced at a time when the Labour party faced increasing pressure to clamp
down on immigration after its open-door policy resulted in a rapid rise in immigration to the UK. It
was kept in place by successive governments until 2015.
In June 2015, Mr Justice Nicol ruled that the system was “structurally unfair” because of the
“abbreviated timetable” and the “the restricted case management powers available to the judge”.
That verdict was upheld in appeals court.
More than 10,000 cases were decided in the period when the fast-track appeals system was
operational.
While judges decided not to automatically reopen all 10,000 cases that were decided under the
fast-track rules, appellants can bring individual claims against their deportation if they can show
that they did not have enough time to gather evidence.
In October 2015, PN filed a claim for a judicial review of her case. For four years, her claim
bounced around the legal system until it reached the high court in 2017.
PN came to the UK in 2010 aged 17 and stayed in the country after her visa expired. She worked
as a hairdresser and had a girlfriend named Mildred. She stayed in the UK because she feared
her uncle would kill her if she returned to Uganda.
After she was arrested for overstaying, PN was sent to Yarl’s Wood immigration centre. The
judgment documents the rapid decline in her health and emotional state while she was detained,
referring to medical notes that suggested she was having flashbacks and may have been suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder. One doctor noted she was suffering from “insomnia,
depressive mood with suicidal thoughts and hallucinatory phenomena”.
The judgment also noted that one doctor reported her sexual development was “consistent with
homosexual orientation”.
PN’s claim for asylum was rejected on the grounds that there was insufficient proof to show that
she was a lesbian. She was granted two weeks to appeal the claim – but that wasn’t long enough
to prove that she had had lesbian relationships in Uganda and the UK, or to access her medical
records, her lawyer argued in court. She was subsequently deported.
Last week, Mr Justice Lewis concluded that the fast track appeals system “did not give her
sufficient opportunity to obtain evidence from Uganda to support her claim”.
Karen Doyle, a campaigner at Movement for Justice, said the possibility of a Home Office appeal
was “devastating” for her.
“She really has been through hell,” Doyle said. “She just wants to come back so she can be safe.”
“I think the UK should be ashamed of what’s happened to PN,” said Alex Schymyck, a writer for
Free Movement, a website about immigration law. “The mere risk that she’s been exposed to
persecution because of an unfair appeal system is completely unacceptable.”
The Home Office declined to comment while proceedings continue. PN’s legal advisers, who
believe she remains extremely vulnerable while in Uganda, also declined to comment.
Nissan e-NV200 van: ‘The UK’s first zero-emission ice-cream van’
Time to phase out old vans with their engines idling, churning out foul emissions for kids to
breathe in
Nissan e-NV200
Price from £20,005
0-62mph 14 seconds
Top speed 76mph
Range 199.6 km (battery only)
Battery 40kWh
The heatwave means that the queues for cooling ice-creams will be longer than ever this
weekend. But the old vans with their idling engines are also churning out harmful emissions to the
parents and kids waiting in line. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the throb of the engine
and taste the smell of diesel exhaust in the back of your throat.
It is an issue which is prompting councils across the UK to consider banning them in town centres,
while older vans in London face huge costs to park up in the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.
But all is not lost: Nissan has teamed up with ethical ice-cream producer Mackie’s of Scotland to
create an all-electric, zero-emission ice-cream van – the first in the country. The prototype, which
is based on Nissan’s e-NV200 electric van, has been fitted with a soft-serve machine, freezer
drawer and drinks fridge. Ice cream is served from a hatch that opens in the side of the vehicle. It
also has contactless bank card and smartphone payments via a ‘tap-and-pay’ panel mounted on
the side.
The van has a range of up to 124 miles between charges, courtesy of the 40kWh battery, while its
equipment is powered by Nissan’s Energy ROAM – a portable power pack that uses lithium-ion
cells upcycled from old electric vehicles. The power packs can then be recharged from solar
panels on the van’s roof. But what about the jingle? That’s been replaced with smart button that
generates a tweet of the van’s precise location… You can have such a thing as too much
progress.
Can Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order help fans feel the Force?
Respawn Entertainment’s forthcoming Star Wars video game, developed in close collaboration
with Lucasfilm, hopes to capture the spirit of the films
In 1983, millions of unsold cartridges of the Atari game ET The Extra Terrestrial were secretly
buried in a concrete-covered landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Thanks to extremely rushed
development and alleged interference from Universal Pictures, the movie tie-in was one of the
worst video games ever made, and a mass grave was the only option for the poor, unwanted
cartridges.
Unfortunately, like movies adapted from games, games adapted from movies are often bad.
(There are exceptions: 1997’s 2D sidescrolling interpretation of Disney’s Hercules on PlayStation
brought me more joy than most recent games.)
Historically, this has not been the result of too much interference from the movie studios that own
the licences, but too little. Promising pop-culture properties such as Transformers, Robocop
and Harry Potter have often been farmed out to contracted development studios that are then
given far too little time to make anything half decent. The forthcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen
Order, however, has better prospects than most. It’s being developed by the lauded studio
behind Titanfall EA’s Respawn Entertainment. And this is being done in close collaboration with
Lucasfilm.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is canon: that is to say, it exists in the same, increasingly dense Star
Wars fictionverse as the movies, comic books and TV shows. “It’s exhaustive,” explains Aaron
Contreras, narrative lead on the game, of the relationship. “We have very active partners at
Lucasfilm. They’ve been with us every step of the way creatively. Every character, every line in
the script, every story beat has been negotiated, discussed, challenged, and fought over with
Lucasfilm.” Jedi: Fallen Order is a third-person, lightsaber swooshing, Jedi force-wielding, action
adventure, set shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith and before Rogue One. Everything
takes place in the same galaxy that Han Solo and Kylo Ren call home – albeit many years earlier
in the timeline than the Skywalker saga. “We’re looking back and telling a very specific story about
a period in Star Wars history, while the current films are about the future, and closing that saga,”
explains Contreras.
You play as the new character Padawan Cal Kestis, who has survived Order 66 to execute all the
Jedi in the Republic, passed during the movie prequel trilogy, as he fights back against the Empire
that carried out the great purge.
Because Fallen Order is part of the connected Star Wars universe, fans will know some of its
characters. In a demo session at this year’s EA Play fan event in Los Angeles, I’m navigating the
forested wookiee planet Kashyyyk, previously seen in episode 3, to save a community of
imprisoned wookiees from the Empire with help from Forest Whitaker’s rebel character from
Rogue One, Saw Gerrera.

“Probably half of our locations in the game are existing locations inside the Star Wars universe,
and you can bet there’ll be more characters that the audience remember,” says Contreras.
The cutest original contribution that Fallen Order brings to the Star Wars universe is companion
droid BD-1. This explorer droid was dreamt up by Respawn, and he joins you on your journey
throughout the game. He jumps around on his two little legs, moving between riding on your back
(adorable) and hopping around to scan the environment, hack stuff for you, and generally be your
droid bestie (adorable, and also useful). BD-1 is aware of your player character, Cal’s, physical
health as well as how he’s feeling, and his uneven little robot-eyes are always scanning for items
useful to his owner. You can picture him in Christmas toy form.
“Droids tend to be the heart and the spine of the Star Wars franchise,” reckons Contreras. “We
had a vision and a concept for BD-1, which was largely what you see. But Lucasfilm pushed for
more specificity in its design. So now, in the Star Wars universe, if you’re an archaeologist or a
climate scientist and you’re going far away on a mission, you’d bring a BD unit as a companion.”
The droid, which Contreras says was inspired by the Peanuts characters Snoopy and Woodstock,
brings a lighthearted tone to Fallen Order that recalls the earliest Star Wars films. In fact, A New
Hope was the biggest influence on this game’s narrative and feel. On my mission to free the
wookiees, I climb with BD-1 on my back up the legs of huge AT-AT, hauling my way on board the
enormous moving vehicle to take over the vehicle’s pilot seat, bonking the heads of the bozo
stormtrooper pilots together in classic Star Wars slapstick fashion.
The fighting, meanwhile, is sophisticated and sometimes brutal, combining Force powers with the
samurai-style sword-slashing – but with lightsabers, naturally. While BD-1 brings kid-friendly
humour to the game, the combat, which is reminiscent of the Dark Souls series and Sekiro:
Shadows Die Twice, brings satisfaction and toughness. There’s nothing childish about using the
Force to pull an enemy trooper’s neck into your grasp before slicing him up with your saber. It
doesn’t go too far for a 12 rating, though: you can’t dismember enemies. Well, unless they’re
droids.
A combination of Uncharted-style adventuring, cinematic scenes and comedy japes make Star
Wars Jedi: Fallen Order feel like a Star Wars film. It’s got a family-friendly twinkle in its eye. But,
like the movies, we should expect light and shade in this game, says Contreras. “Like all things
Star Wars, we try to have a wide range of tone.”
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is out in November, a month before Star Wars: The Rise of
Skywalker is released in cinemas.
Topics
Can I buy a phone that doesn’t use anything from Google or Apple?
Steve does not like firms slurping up his data, so wants a device that respects his privacy
I have concerns about the likes of Google and Apple slurping up as much info as they can about
me from my phone. I’ve tried looking online for alternatives and found mentions of things like /e/,
Lineage, Sailfish OS etc, but they assume a level of tech knowledge far above what I have as a
layman. So, are there any phones that are 100% free from Google and Apple software and
hardware? How easy are such phones to obtain? Steve
Very easy. You can pick up a Nokia 105 (2017 edition) for about £15 or a dual-sim Nokia 106
(2018 edition) for about £16. These are only 2G phones but they have built-in FM radios, they can
send texts, they are great for making phone calls and they are not based on Google or Apple
technologies. A 3G or 4G phone would cost a bit more …
Of course, you may also want to do smartphone-type things such as email and web browsing. In
that case, buy a GPD Pocket 2, GPD MicroPC, One Mix Yoga, One Mix 1S, One Mix 2S or similar
just-about-pocketable computer running Microsoft Windows 10 on a 7in screen.
(GeekBuying stocks several models and is taking reservations on the One Mix 1S.) Mini-laptops
may look expensive but they are cheaper than high-end smartphones.
This answers your question but it is obviously not the solution you are looking for …
The problem is that most people – including me – want to use Googly things on their phones.
Gmail is the dominant email service, YouTube is the dominant short video provider, Google
Search and Google Maps are very useful and Google Chrome is the most widely used web
browser. There may be viable and sometimes preferable alternatives but you have to make an
effort to use them. Most people don’t want to make the effort.

Indeed, it looks as though the next generation of candy-bar phones will also include Google.
Nokia’s latest 4G feature-phone, the Nokia 8110 “banana phone”, runs the KaiOS operating
system, in which Google has invested $22 million. The Alcatel Go Flip 2, JioPhone and Orange
Sanza are alternative KaiOS phones available in North America, India and Africa respectively.
(Kai is named from the Chinese word for open, not the undead protagonist in the Lexx science
fiction series.)
KaiOS includes WhatsApp – its main selling point – plus a web browser, Facebook, YouTube,
Google Maps and Google Assistant. It’s claimed to be the second most popular operating system
in India and could manage that in Africa. Some KaiOS phones cost less than $20.
KaiOS started as a fork of B2G (Boot to Gecko), which was an open source continuation of Firefox
OS, which Mozilla stopped developing at the end of 2015. Gonk, the operating system underneath
Gecko (which is Firefox’s web-rendering engine) is a small Linux kernel derived from Google’s
AOSP, the Android Open Source Project.
In other words, the OS most likely to become a global alternative to Apple’s iOS and
Google Android isn’t – and isn’t likely to be – 100% free from Google software. Even if it is not
KaiOS, any future OS might use parts of AOSP because it is easier than developing everything
from scratch. It could also pre-package access to some Google properties, even if they are just
web apps, because most people want to use them.
A string of failures …
The fact that we have, essentially, a duopoly in the smartphone business is not for want of trying.
Microsoft entered the market with a version of Windows running on ARM-based smartphones and
it even made Windows available free on small-screen devices. The people who owned Windows
phones seemed to love them and in 24 countries it overtook Apple’s iPhone in market share.
However, the lack of apps was a major stumbling block and Microsoft abandoned its challenge,
having lost billions of dollars in the attempt.
You can still buy Windows phones but most date from 2015-16 and will soon be out of support. I
didn’t recommend buying them when they came out so I really wouldn’t recommend one now.
Canonical also had a go at the smartphone market with its Linux-based Ubuntu Touch. It failed. In
this case, the development was taken over by the UBports Community, which developed a port for
the OnePlus One smartphone in 2015. There are now a few others but I don’t expect Ubuntu
Touch phones to appear in your local high street.
South Korea’s two smartphone manufacturers, Samsung and LG, would also love to have an
independent operating system but success is unlikely. Samsung tried with Tizen, which was
supported by the Linux Foundation. The Samsung Z series was launched in India and didn’t do
well enough but Tizen is used in Samsung Gear smartwatches. LG could have a go with Palm’s
Linux-based webOS, which it acquired from HP in 2013. WebOS first appeared on Palm Pre
smartphones in 2009 but LG has mainly used it in smart TV sets.
Sailfish started with another failed Linux project, Nokia and Intel’s MeeGo. The latest version uses
a graphical shell from Jolla, the Finnish company that appears to be its major backer. Sailfish can
be ported to more alternative smartphones than Ubuntu Touch but I can’t see any current phones
with Sailfish pre-installed. The same is true for both /e/ (formerly Eelo), which is a sort of de-
Googled Android, and LineageOS, which is a reborn CyanogenMod.
You main hope is Purism’s forthcoming Librem 5, which seems to be exactly what you want.
Whether it can buck the trend remains to be seen.
In general, the problem with Linux on smartphones looks much like its problem on PCs. Many and
various groups enjoy developing new versions of the operating system, which are all more or less
doomed from birth. None of them have the skills, the interests or the money to create viable
platforms that include the hardware, apps, services, packaging, marketing, advertising, distribution
and support on the sort of scale needed to sustain a real product. Without those, they are unlikely
to attract much interest beyond hobbyists and enthusiasts.
Future success?
Things may change thanks mainly to the current American president. Trump sent China and the
rest of the world a wakeup call by trying to exclude Huawei – the world’s second-largest
smartphone manufacturer and the leader in 5G – from using American technology. Huawei was
already developing its own Android app-compatible operating system, currently known as
Hongmen OS, as an alternative. The potential loss of up to $30bn in sales per year suggests there
will be no shortage of money or manpower for its future development.
Indeed, China has a powerful incentive to replace all the American technology it uses with home-
grown alternatives. This may take decades but in the long run, it will hurt Google, Intel, Qualcomm
and numerous other US companies. The genie is out of the bottle and the Americans will never be
able to put it back.
Hongmen, aka Ark OS, may not have a lot of appeal in Europe but it could do well in Asian
countries that already do more trade with China than with the US.
Meanwhile, the EU’s latest antitrust case against Google should allow phone manufacturers to
offer alternative browsers and search engines. It should also enable Android smartphone
suppliers to sell phones with alternative versions of Android in Europe, which Google did not allow
them to do before. A major player such as Samsung or Huawei could therefore test the market
with a Google-free Android phone. In which case, you can vote with your wallet.
Remember the apps!
Whatever happens with Apple and Google, people buy smartphones to run apps and most apps
appear to be compromising your privacy. In 2017 a study from the University of California at
Berkeley found that around 70% of apps shared your data with third-party services (PDF).
A recent Washington Post story based on Disconnect.me technology found trackers were rife in
the journalist’s iPhone apps. Google, of course, banned Disconnect Mobile from its Play store way
back in 2014. In a blogpost, the company wrote: “Google refuses to explain their decision, other
than to say that our app won’t be allowed if it interferes with any ads; even ads that contain
malware and steal your identity.”
The app economy, like the web economy, is ultimately based on surveillance. That isn’t likely to
change unless the EU does something about it. And so far, despite the GDPR and three antitrust
cases against Google, the EU has left smartphone tracking revenues unharmed.
UK mobile operators ignore security fears over Huawei 5G
Firms pushing ahead with Chinese tech giant to set up new network
Huawei is helping develop 5G networks for all four of the UK’s major mobile phone operators –
even though the government has yet to confirm whether the controversial Chinese technology
company will be permitted to build the next generation of wireless infrastructure.
The revelation threatens to exacerbate tensions between the UK and the US, which has taken a
firm line against the company amid claims, strongly denied, that it is controlled by the Chinese
government and that its equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies.
The Observer understands that Huawei is already involved in building 5G networks in six of the
seven cities in the UK where Vodafone has gone live. It is also helping build hundreds of 5G sites
for EE, and has won 5G contracts to build networks for Three and O2 when they go live.
The decision to use Huawei in the “non-core” parts of their networks – chiefly the radio systems
allowing wireless communication – is a gamble for UK telecom operators. They may be left
counting the cost if the government bans the Chinese company from any involvement with 5G.
The consultancy Assembly suggests a partial to full restriction on Huawei could result in an 18-to-
24-month delay to the widespread availability of 5G in the UK. The UK would then fail to become a
world leader in 5G – a key government target – costing the economy between £4.5bn and £6.8bn.
But the US has placed the UK in a difficult position. In May, President Donald Trump ordered the
US treasury department to name Huawei as a national security threat, a move that led US firms to
distance themselves from the company. Three months earlier, the heads of major intelligence
agencies, including the FBI, the CIA and the NSA, had warned US citizens not to use Huawei
phones.
The US has also pressured other countries to stop using Huawei equipment in their national
infrastructure and has warned close allies such as the UK that to continue the relationship might
jeopardise its ability to share classified security information with them.
US concerns are shared by several senior UK government figures. Gavin Williamson was sacked
as defence secretary this year after he was suspected of leaking confidential National Security
Council discussions that suggested Huawei would be allowed to provide non-core 5G equipment
to UK operators. A government review of the UK telecoms supply chain, which would signal
whether Huawei should be allowed to build 5G networks, was due to be published in the spring
but has yet to materialise as officials and ministers clash over the extent to which the Chinese
company should be restricted.
Whitehall officials are concerned that excluding Huawei, one of the very few companies that can
provide next-generation wireless technology, would have damaging implications for the future of
the UK’s infrastructure. They have taken note of what happened last December when the O2 4G
networkwent down for 24 hours due to problems with technology provided by the Swedish
telecoms firm Ericsson.
“If we had banned Huawei and everyone was just using Ericsson, we would have had a day
without any mobile coverage on any network – not a good position to be in,” said Matthew Howett
at Assembly.
The quiet rollout of 5G telecoms infrastructure supplied by Huawei has been tracked by an
enthusiast, Peter Clarke, who has earned a cult following posting pictures of the new masts on his
Twitter feed.
Globally, the company has signed contracts to help build 50 5G networks, totalling around
150,000 base stations.
In recent weeks Trump has softened his position, agreeing that US firms should be able to sell
some components to Huawei, a climbdown described by the Republican senator Marco Rubio as
a “catastrophic mistake”.
One key issue to be resolved is what constitutes core and non-core equipment. In contrast to
previous mobile phone technologies, 5G will have more sensitive information accessed closer to
the edge – or the non-core – of the network, which Huawei’s critics could flag as a concern.
“There is the whole debate about where the core and access network are delineated,” said
Howett. “But the reality is that the operators are all using Huawei to an extent – they are quite
happy with it. The government has huge ambitions for what 5G can deliver to the economy, and a
bad decision based on politics could seriously stop that from being a reality.”
Corbyn wishes Amazon 'many happy tax returns' on its 25th anniversary
Labour leader sends barbed message to the online retailer’s founder, Jeff Bezos
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has sent a barbed birthday card to Jeff Bezos to mark
Amazon’s 25th anniversary, wishing the company “many happy tax returns” and demanding it
pays more UK tax, pays its staff better and improves working conditions.
Amazon UK paid only £1.7m in corporation tax in 2017, its most recent annual public filing at
Companies House, as pre-tax profits tripled to £72m. Turnover at its British business, which
handles the packing and delivery of parcels and functions such as customer service, rose 35%,
from £1.46bn to £1.98bn.
Corbyn’s birthday message to the world’s richest man, who has just finalised the world’s biggest
divorce settlement, worth $38bn, says: “Dear Jeff. Happy Birthday. You owe the British people
millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. This year, pay your fair share
of taxes, give your hard-working staff a pay rise and respect workers’ rights. Many Happy Tax
Returns, Jeremy.”
Amazon insists it operates within the UK’s laws on corporation tax, which are based on profits not
revenues, and that retail is a tough sector to make money in.
“We pay all taxes required in the UK and every country where we operate,” said a spokesman for
Amazon UK. “Corporation tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits have remained low
given retail is a highly competitive, low margin business and our continued heavy investment.”
The UK is Amazon’s third-biggest market globally in terms of retail sales, which are reported
through a separate company in Luxembourg, with the company’s US filings showing that UK
revenues hit $14.5bn last year, a 53% rise in only two years.
Robert Palmer, the executive director of Tax Justice UK, said: “People are fed up with companies
like Amazon playing the system to slash their tax rate. We need to fix the broken global corporate
tax rules that allow massive companies to pay little or no tax.”
The government is to introduce a new tax on the digital giants – including Google, Facebook and
Amazon – from April next year to increase the amount they pay in the UK. A 2% tax on revenue
from search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces will be levied against
technology firms that make more than £500m a year globally.
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Amazon, which has 17 warehouses in the UK and employs 27,500 workers, has also been
accused of treating staff like robots and not respecting workers’ rights.
In May, trade unions lobbied City investors to put pressure on Amazon to improve conditions for
its workers in the UK. The GMB told investors that workers at Amazon’s giant warehouses worked
long shifts under pressure to hit targets for items picked, causing pain and injuries. Amazon
workers’ allegations included lack of action on sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions and
warehouse managers dismissing employees’ concerns and problems.
“Amazon employees already receive industry-leading pay and benefits and there are no zero-hour
contracts in our fulfilment centres,” said Amazon. “We offer a safe, modern working environment.”
Instagram influencer staged 'surprise' engagement weekend
Marissa Fuchs posted photos of disbelief, but marketers were sent itinerary months before
A public proposal is a risky thing to attempt. For every couple whose love for each other is
perfectly in tune, there is a partner who has woefully misjudged their lover’s desire for public
attention, grand romantic gestures, or simply marriage full stop.
So Gabriel Grossman might have been taking a huge risk when he and his girlfriend, the
Instagram influencer Marissa Casey Fuchs, embarked on not just a public proposal, but a 48-
hour-long surprise holiday scavenger hunt, exhaustively documented by the couple on their
respective Instagram accounts. What if she’d said no? Or decided that this precious moment was
too personal to be shared with her audience of 193,000 people?
But perhaps Grossman didn’t need to worry. Not just because Fuchs has been sharing nearly
every detail of her life for years and shows no sign of stopping – but also because it may not have
been as much of a surprise as her audience were led to believe. Before the “surprise” trip even
began, marketers across New York had received a detailed itinerary of what it would contain.
Spread over multiple pages, the PDF slide-deck detailed where Grossman and Fuchs would be,
down to the hour, as well as what and how Fuchs would share on her Instagram account, from a
“specialty shot” at the Surf Lodge at 9pm on Tuesday to a “Short Film Next Stop Post” at Gurney’s
Resort at 8am the next morning.
The document promised to “capture heartwarming moments and surprise and delight the soon-to-
be bride at every twist turn and flight!” It ended with an offer to brands of “the opportunity to align
with this momentous occasion and the beautiful cities she will be visiting along the way”.
The slide deck was leaked to the Atlantic’s Taylor Lorenz, the Bob Woodward of the influencer
world, who published it on Thursday. “The pdf not only is expertly designed, but also directly
solicits brand partnerships and was sent to marketers under the guise of a possible sponsorship,”
Lorenz wrote, dismissing initial claims from a friend of Fuchs that the document was a simple
“logistical plan”.
Not that such a pitch would be likely to be particularly successful, says Arron Shepherd, co-
founder of influencer marketing agency Goat. “I would find it very strange. It’s not something that’s
coming along regularly. People will certainly tell us, “I’m going to be here at this time” and seek
sponsorship, but something so personal as that … It’ll be giving birth next.”
Indeed, Shepherd worries that the pitch could end up doing more harm than good for Fuchs’
burgeoning celebrity. “The people that will suffer the most will be the influencers, not the brands.
Influencers have very specific audiences, who are sensitive to betrayal.”
What influencers are selling, says Tom Winbow, UK MD of Ralph Creative, is authenticity, and
when that is harmed, it can damage their business. “The strength of an influencer’s influence is
really defined by the relationship with their audience. We find that those influencers who remain
authentic and cultivate a real relationship with their audience are the ones who can genuinely
influence their audience in to taking an actual action (and not just an empty like or comment).
“Social media was supposed to be all about authenticity and real moments, without the gloss of
traditional media. Across all media, traditional and social, the trusted bond between author and
audience is becoming more and more fractured. And stories like these only serve to damage this
relationship further, meaning we should always ask ourselves, ‘What is real?’”
When the mask slips too much, the results can be actively unpleasant. Last year, fashion blogger
Scarlett Dixon posted an Instagram shot of herself supposedly having breakfast. The picture, a
sponsored post for a brand of mouthwash, was ludicrously over the top in its twee perfection, with
Dixon, who Instagrams as @scarlettlondon, sitting on a freshly made bed, surrounded by
pancakes and strawberries with an apparently empty cup of tea and pink heart-shaped balloons
floating above her head.
As the image spread across other social networks, Dixon faced a torrent of abuse. “Each time I
refresh my page, hundreds of new nasty messages pour on to my Instagram, Twitter and
YouTube, some of which have contained malicious death threats,” she wrote in a follow-up
Instagram post. “There are now hundreds of thousands of tweets circling the internet, shaming
me.”
“My feed isn’t a place of reality,” Dixon added. “I mean, who spends their time in such a beautiful
city, perched on a ledge, ice-cream in hand and smile permanently affixed to her face? It’s staged,
guys.”
For the Fuchs/Grossman household, at least, the preparation didn’t seem to pay off. He told
Lorenz that “most brands didn’t even respond”, with the bulk of the sponsorship coming from
companies the pair already had dealings with. “I can be public for a bit for this one moment in our
lives, then it will go back to normal.”