How to spot a fake Catholic influencer

A short guide for Catholics

Last week, the Pope posted about online Catholic culture.

We’re so deep into Catholic influencer culture that even the Vatican knows it exists. It’s not going anywhere. Which means you need to know how to spot a fake influencer.

I’ve written before that Catholic influencers exist whether we like it or not. The ship has sailed. Instead of debating whether priests should be online or whether anyone should make money from Catholic content, we need to figure out how to do this well.

A group of Catholic influencers (many of whom are great)

Bad metrics

When a lay influencer messes up, you’ll see people say “See! Only priests should be online!” When a priest messes up, you’ll see other people say “See! Priests shouldn’t be online!”

It’s not as simple as checking whether someone is wearing a collar. Alex Crow, a now-laicized priest with a large TikTok following, absconded to Rome with a young girl. Alex Jurado, aka “Voice of Reason,” was caught inappropriately messaging female fans.

Nor is it as simple as checking whether someone is theologically sound. Both Alexes I just mentioned were theologically sound in preaching, though obviously not in practice.

Nor is it about money. Ascension Press is a for-profit Catholic company making good content. Sure, money corrupts—but monetization by itself isn’t evil. Healthy monetization supports the mission and provides for families. Unhealthy monetization is just wealth accumulation. But it’s hard to judge from the outside, which is why I don’t think “do they make money?” tells you much.

So it’s not theology, state of life, or monetization.

Then how do you tell the good from the bad?

The way I see it, you have to ask three questions.

1. Does their content lead you to real-life friendship?

Years ago, I watched Blimey Cow—a Protestant YouTuber who made videos for their mostly homeschooled Christian audience. One of the things they did that I liked was host an in-person convention for their patrons. They wanted to help their audience become friends with each other.

That’s the standard. Does the content push you toward your parish, your neighbors, your actual community? Or does it trap you online in some parasocial relationship where you’re dependent on this one personality?

If it’s keeping you online, that’s a problem.

2. Does it make you more hopeful or more cynical?

There’s a lot of doom and gloom Catholic content out there. Especially in the trad world. Some influencers want you to hate the Pope. They want you to think the Church is dying.

That’s not good. Content should appeal to your better nature, not your worst. It should inspire you toward what is excellent—toward goodness. If you’re walking away angry, despairing, or cynical every time, something’s off.

3. Does the person point to themselves or to Christ?

Some influencers build followings that are loyal to them personally. They become the source of truth instead of pointing you toward Jesus and His Church.

A good influencer will point beyond themselves to Christ and His Church. Because at the end of the day, every influencer will disappoint you, whether it’s career-ending stuff or just an off-hand comment you don’t like. They’re human and capable of sin.

But if they’ve been leading you to Jesus the whole time, you’ll be fine.

Because Jesus never disappoints.

Why This Matters

If you’re a busy young Catholic with kids and a job, you don’t have time for content that distracts you from real life. You need a media diet that helps you build up your family and your parish.

Fortunately, you’re actually less vulnerable here than single college students with tons of free time. You’re rooted. You have people keeping you grounded.

If you’re a single young Catholic, be careful. Without those ties, you can get sucked into online silos fast.

The Catholic influencer world isn’t disappearing. The Pope knows it. We know it. So we need to get better at discernment.

Use the three questions:

1. Does it lead to real friendship?

2. Does it inspire hope or cynicism?

3. Does it point to Christ or to the influencer?

And if you’ve found other ways to spot fakes, let me know in the comments. Because we’re all trying to figure this out together.

At the end of the day, even a fake influencer can lead you to Jesus. God writes straight with crooked lines. But let’s aim for the straight lines first.