Joanna Wiedźma (polish.folk.witch on Instagram) has shared some prompts to get people thinking about online witchcraft community. To participate, use the hashtag #occultea and tag her on Instagram or Threads.

Topic 2: Influencer Authenticity

• Out of what I share on social media, how much of it is staged vs. reality?

• Do I think there is an element of censorship in online spaces?

• How do I decipher what is “appropriate” to share online vs. what to keep privately? Is this based on “social media etiquette” or a personal preference?

• Have I ever encountered or heard of grifters in our community?

• Do I recognize them? What are significant signs of grifters in the community?

• What tools are helpful to decipher misinformation, and how can we as a community prevent widespread misinformation?

• How does a large following impact the perception of the creator?

• Does this immediately make them an “expert”? Or are there other assumptions as to why they may have a large following?

• How does one maintain the balance of authenticity and content creation?

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Out of what I share on social media, how much of it is staged vs. reality?

99% of what I share is genuine. I don’t share pictures of my altars, my tools, or my deity statues. The only exception to that was when I was interviewed by Julian Vayne for his My Magical Thing series: I shared an actual wand that I use. The one time I did a video on how to set up an altar, I did it with items that are not a regular part of my altar setup.

I also make graphics on Canva sometimes—but all the other photos I share are of walks I’ve been on and places I’ve visited.

Do I think there is an element of censorship in online spaces?

The algorithm censors what you can see but it shows you what it thinks you want to see, based on what you’ve liked before.

People censor themselves by sharing an idealized version of their lives.

How do I decipher what is “appropriate” to share online vs. what to keep privately? Is this based on “social media etiquette” or a personal preference?

Most of the time I am just muddling along posting what interests me, or about causes I care about. I do fact check things before I post them. I decided that I didn’t want to share altar, tool, and deity statue photos— no-one told me not to post them; it just felt like those were private. I’m also careful about posting pictures of other people on my public accounts.

Have I ever encountered or heard of grifters in our community?

So to me a grifter is a person who sells their services online. The services are genuine but their worth may be disputed.

A scammer is a person who claims to be selling a service but is out to steal your money.

Scammers are usually not part of the occult community.

There are grifters out there. I’m aware of a site where a person tries to sell spells and asks people to pay for them, but is terribly behind on the work they’re offering.

Do I recognize them? What are significant signs of grifters in the community?

Signs of a grifter — constantly trying to get money from others. This is distinct from selling stuff online.

Sign of a scammer — messages you to offer a reading.

What tools are helpful to decipher misinformation?

• Check to see if other people are saying the same. But be aware that the same misinformation gets repeated across multiple sites. Sometimes it’s even in published books.
• Check the sources of the information provided.
• Who is the person making the claim? What are their credentials?

How can we as a community prevent widespread misinformation?

It’s already happened— but read more academic books and articles (you can get 99 free article views a month on JSTOR) and keep spreading the correct information.

How does a large following impact the perception of the creator?

Personally it doesn’t influence me at all. I pick who I follow based on what their content is like, rather than how many followers they have.

Does this immediately make them an “expert”? Or are there other assumptions as to why they may have a large following?

No. What makes someone an expert is how long they’ve been practicing the Craft, and how well-read they are.

How does one maintain the balance of authenticity and content creation?

Just post what you find interesting. Don’t pretend that your life is more magical than it actually is. And post about what makes you sad, as well as what makes you happy.