From that bird guy to bus aunty': the real social media personalities rising above AI slop

"For years, social media fame has been associated with the red carpet glamour of the Kardashians and Cristiano Ronaldo's megawatt sporting celebrity, but millions of users globally are increasingly turning their attention to unassuming heroes drawn from everyday life. TikTok says a range of accounts, from a bird enthusiast to an Italian grandmother and a doubledecker bus fan, have grown in popularity this year as social media users latch on to authentic voices."

"Pointing out that the demand for everyday content appears to have increased this year, he says: We are getting a lot of AI content on social media and I think this is an antidote to that. A lot of material like Gerald's has an educational element as well. Audiences are wanting to get more out of their feeds than just scrolling every three seconds."

"A Cotswolds-based pensioner has become an Instagram hit thanks to his posts celebrating his garden including a fondness for red cabbage. Gerald Stratford, who has 370,000 followers, has starred in a photoshoot for Gucci off the back of his grassroots success. Gerald Stratford, who is a fan of red cabbage. Photograph: @stratfordgerald/Instagram Rowland Smith, the creative director at Billion Dollar Boy, a UK-based advertising agency that works with creators, says Stratford is an example of the authenticity and passion that"

Social media audiences are shifting attention from celebrity glamour to everyday, authentic creators who share relatable, educational content. TikTok highlights diverse emerging accounts — including a bird enthusiast, an Italian grandmother, and a double-decker bus fan — gaining popularity for authentic voices. Gerald Stratford, a Cotswolds pensioner, amassed 370,000 Instagram followers for garden posts and secured a Gucci photoshoot from grassroots appeal. Industry voices say authenticity and passion resonate as platforms fill with AI-generated material. Audiences show fatigue with polished, overly stylised content and favour relevance and resonance, and TikTok rewarded creators documenting neurodiversity with its Voice for Change award.

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