The scene: A bright, white wall with a plant at the side. Chloe sits in the middle, her hair down and her face bare. Her skin is glowing but you can tell that she doesn't have any makeup on. Her eyes are slightly red and puffy and her lips are quivering.

"Hi guys," Chloe says, pausing to exhale deeply. "This is so hard to do. But I have to, I feel so bad. As you know, I'm interning at the Bank. A few days ago, an unnamed woman came up to me asking for help about her Infected husband. I was worried about her but with a bus to catch, I quickly brushed her off. I'm so sorry for that. I didn't realise that she would have taken such a drastic step and for that, I'm sorry."

Chloe sobs audibly, although sharp-eyed viewers might notice that she manages to produce only two or three tears. Sad violin music starts to play softly in the background. It is the bank's jingle in a minor key and much slower than normal.

"This is completely against the motto of the Bank, which is 'We Care'. And I do care, very much. My DMs are always open if you need to talk to someone and if you need help from the bank, please contact their appointed service officers instead of asking random employees. Thank you and once again, I am so sorry that my actions caused that lady to do what she did."

The camera fades to black. A list of hot-line numbers for people around the world appears, as well as a "Subscribe" button for both Chloe and the Bank's official social media channels.

*****

LaoPaSays: What a crock of shit

Chantellily22: The cockles of my heart are frozen from such an awful, calculated video

Chermandy: Some of you have never made a mistake in your lives and it shows in your judgemental comments

LaoPaSays: Hypocrite

ConcernedMumSG1254: @LaoPaSays Chermandy is the only one willing to speak truth to power so shut up.

LaoPaSays: You mean she lets anti-vaxxers like you speak on her Lives.

Show 22 more comments

The comments were so overwhelming Chloe had to take a one hour break before she could even open her DMs.

[Chermandy] Girl, you gained 200 followers. You have to convert them from hate follers with new content ASAP. Let's do a live?

[LunaSenshi] Chloe, I'm so sorry to hear about the trolls. Stay strong, it'll die over soon.

Chloe's screams of excitement caused the neighbours to lock their doors and lodge  a complaint with the police. 

*****

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Another one? Chloe looked up from her phone and saw the cause of the targeted ad: a group Anti-Vaxxers. Personally, Chloe was surprised that they were even allowed to exist here, but perhaps the government thought that their constant treks to the Speaker's Park would eventually get all of them Infected.

With a sigh, she went back to training the algorithm. Hopefully this sponsored ad wouldn't attract the crazies to her feed.

"Hello? Are you aware of the Lizard People running the government?" One of them spoke directly in Chloe's ear, causing her to jump. Chloe quickly tapped on the camera app of her phone and began recording.

"Um, no?"

"It's a terrible thing. The lizard people need the space for their eggs to hatch which is why they unleashed the Infection. But it's not killing everyone quickly enough so they're developing a vaccine. They'll release it soon and you mustn't take it."

"Won't a vaccine stop us from getting us Infected?"

"No! It will go into your bloodstream and turn you into one of them!"

"I thought they wanted to kill us?"

"They do!"

"How do we even know they're lizard people? We elected them just two years ago, after the Infections started?"

"It's all part of their global plan!" the anti-vaxxer said, spittle flying everywhere. Chloe quickly scrambled for her face shield. Sometimes, the always-mask mandate was helpful. "They start by convincing you that they were the choice, but actually they brainwashed everyone through the water to vote for them!"

"Excuse me? Sir, you're not practicing social distancing." An Ambassador approached the anti-vaxxer and Chloe heaved a sigh of relief. Her thumb hovered over the "pause" button. To film or not to film? Third parties were always tricky.

"Social distancing doesn't work!" the anti-vaxxer said defiantly. "Only the people they want to die will die."

"Sir, that's a three hundred dollar fine," the Ambassador said, pulling out his tablet. "Name and IC, please?"

"I don't have three hundred dollars! First you take my CPF, then you want to take my money? When will you lizard people stop?"

"Sir, I don't care if you are a lizard or an orangutan. If you are going to break social distancing laws, you will be punished. Name and IC?"

"See? They're after us!" The anti-vaxxer howled and bounded away. Unfortunately, the bus was still travelling and the Social Distancing Ambassador managed to corner him.

"Name and IC!"

"No!"

"Name! IC!"

Recognising someone as persistent as he was, the anti-vaxxer reluctantly took out his IC card and handed it over. The Ambassador smiled as his screen beeped.

"Sir, as this is your fifth offence, you can be fined up to ten thousand dollars and jailed for six months. Please report to the court on this date." He handed a slip of paper to the man, whose shoulders slumped down as he read the notice. Dejected, he turned back to his friends and returned to the fold.

Chloe wanted to share this incident right away, but it was her stop and she could not be late to meet LunaSenshi. Reluctantly, she got off the bus and checked her map. She had never been to this part of Singapore before. Following directions, she headed down a small path.

"Halt! Name and IC!" Chloe didn't look up from her phone in time and bumped into the guard.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm visiting a friend."

"Name and IC?" After Chloe had produced her identification, the guard gestured to a makeshift screening station. "Please go there."

Apart from the swab test, there was no cheap and reliable way to test for the Infection. Some people, however, used a combination of temperature and heart-beat tracker to make screen for visitors. Many companies had given up on it after a few Infected in their early stages got through, but a few rich estates still kept it. Some protection was better than none, after all.

Chloe walked down the road and arrived at LunaSenshi's house. It was a big, old bungalow that towered over the shiny high fence. The fence had been sponsored, Chloe remembered, and so was the renovation that their family did last year.

"Don't act like a stalker-fangirl," Chloe muttered under her breath. "You don't know everything that she's posted." She reached for the bell.

Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?

"Um, I have an appointment with LunaSenshi?"

You're a friend of Luna's? Come in, quickly.

The gates opened, revealing LunaSenshi's up-to-date family car. She had received that for her birthday last year and the vlog she made from it hit one million views within twenty-four hours, a record for local influencers. It had also created a storm about influencer privilege and Chloe had taken copious notes about how LunaSenshi had weathered through this storm.

Don't:

- Engage with the haters

- Justify yourself

- Create sockpuppet accounts to turn the attention to your rivals or take advantage of the backlash

Do:

- Post pictures of your family

- Make a donation to charity

- Make sure your donations are publicly traceable

"Come in, come in." A middle-aged woman with light brown hair stood at the door. Chloe instantly recognised her as LunaSenshi's mother.

"Hello, Auntie," Chloe said. "Thank you for opening the door."

"Anything for LunaSenshi's fans," LunaSenshi's mother said excitedly. "Now, how did you find her? Do you watch her family vlogs?"

"Of course," Chloe said enthusiastically. "I love her vlogs, especially when you appear in it! You're so fun to watch!"

"Really? I'm so happy, you don't know how much I practice. My other daughter keeps telling me that it's fake but all my friends say it's very good what. I'm going to tell her that you also like my appearances."

"Are you complaining again, mum?" LunaSenshi asked as she appeared in the living room. Despite her previous resolution to act cool, Chloe couldn't help but gasp.

"LunaSenshi! I love your channels!"

LunaSenshi smiled with satisfaction. "Please, call me Luna," she purred, just like she did when she met other fans for the first time! "I'm so glad you enjoy my little channel, I've said this like a thousand times but I mean it when I say that I really didn't expect to get such a big following. Let's talk in my room."

"Do you mind if we take a we-fie?"

"Perhaps later," Luna said as she walked ahead. Chloe followed her into The Room, the one that she had seen in hundreds of videos. It was just as bright and photogenic as it appeared on camera, every corner perfect for an impromptu shoot. It was like being in a movie set and Chloe could barely pull herself together to listen to what Luna was saying. "I know it must be a shock to get a message from a stranger, but some of the comments that people were saying were just too much. It's like they don't think influencers are people."

Chloe wanted to die of happiness. LunaSenshi called her an 'influencer'!

"Now, Chloe," LunaSenshi said, "how are you feeling?"

"I mean, I was so sad at first but your message came and I'm over the moon now," Chloe gushed. "You cannot imagine what it's like to finally receive a message from you! I mean, I know how I look like, sending messages on your big days, so it's a huge thing."

LunaSenshi bit her lip. "Sorry about that, it's just—"

"You have way too many followers to reply to everything. Don't worry, I completely know what it's like."

"Yes, but I try to keep an eye on things. Are you sure you're okay with all that pressure? I looked through your account and it seems like this is your first time being mobbed. It's not normal for people to get so much hate so quickly."

Chloe had to think quickly. What was the best tone to take?

"Well," she said, making her voice softer.

"It was really hard." That was true.

"I cried." That was also true.

"Honestly, I didn't know if I could go to work after that." Before she could catch it, a tear slid down her cheek, smudging the mascara that she had redrawn on.

LunaSenshi put a hand on her back. "I know how it feels. Especially after my first video went viral for all the wrong reasons. That's why I wanted to reach out and see if you were okay."

"I'm not," Chloe said quickly. "I'm so stressed."

"The video will pass. You just have to hang in there."

"Do you know if brands will still want me?" That was the wrong thing because LunaSenshi frowned.

"Chloe, I don't think that's important. I speak from personal experience when I say that going deeper into the online world when you're mentally stressed is a bad idea."

Chloe winced. She had forgotten about that live where LunaSenshi broke down. She disappeared from the internet for a month, until the LunaSenshi thread on SingSnark had died down before coming back. It was obvious to Chloe that LunaSenshi used that time to be much more selective about sponsorships she accepted, but it was probably bad form to be talking about that so early. She had to salvage this.

"It's just that money is a concern because of my parents. They're infected. It's still the early stages so it's under control but I'm the only one who can work and I don't think I can get into my dad's CPF account."

"Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry—"

"That's why I was DM-ing you. I know your sister works for the research facility and I thought that maybe she could help. I mean you could help. I mean the two of you could help." This was going so badly. LunaSenshi was going to laugh at how needy and pathetic and weird she was. This time, she didn't even try to stop the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"I just thought that maybe if I was like you, I could get them some help."

LunaSenshi bit her lip. "I'm so sorry about your parents," she said slowly. "I don't want to make any promises but I'll talk to my sister about it."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Chloe said. She slid off the sofa and knelt. Time for another request.

"Chloe! What are you doing?" Luna asked as she quickly lifted Chloe up. "Please, no kneeling, it's just so awkward."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so grateful. When can I meet your sister? And can I please post a photo on my feed? I won't mention about my parents and I know I don't have an audience but I just want it noted down."

LunaSenshi gave her a small smile. "If you really want to, I guess. But I don't think that will help the hater situation."

ThatGirlChloe: Tough times don't last but tough people do... hopefully? Thank you @LunaSenshi for reaching out to me when I was in such a dark place and even though I'm a nobody! It gives me strength to know that I'm not alone.

- 1345 likes, 50 comments

LunaSenshi: Glad you're feeling better, Chloe!

Chermandy: OMG GURL! You have to get @LunaSenshi on for a live with us!! Xx

A/N: CPF = Central Provident Fund. Basically, it's a compulsory retirement savings plan for Singaporeans