European and Australian visitors say they were misled about the United States. Their enthusiasm may be genuine—but there is also an enormous audience eager to reward anyone who tells Americans how wonderful they are.

Now that the World Cup is over, something unusual is happening across social media.

Europeans, Australians and other international visitors are posting emotional videos about their experiences in the United States. They say Americans were friendlier than expected. The country was cleaner, prettier, safer and more welcoming than they had been led to believe.

Some appear genuinely astonished that the United States isn’t a smoking crater filled with drive-by shootings, medical bankruptcies and people arguing about Donald Trump inside Walmart.

They gush over American hospitality, enormous supermarkets, free drink refills, restaurant portions, air conditioning, national parks, pickup trucks and complete strangers who treat them like old friends.

Several have effectively delivered public apologies.

“We were wrong about America,” they announce.

“We were lied to.”

“Americans are the nicest people in the world.”

“I don’t want to go home.”

It is flattering. It may also be extremely profitable.

Were They Really Misled?

There is good reason to believe some of the surprise is sincere.

Most international news coverage of the United States concerns politics, shootings, crime, racial conflict, natural disasters or whatever outrageous statement dominated Washington that morning.

Nobody in London interrupts regular programming to report that a friendly woman in Ohio gave a visiting German directions to the nearest Cracker Barrel.

As a result, someone who has never visited America may arrive expecting a country considerably more frightening than the one most Americans encounter every day.

The World Cup gave millions of foreign visitors a chance to experience the country directly. Instead of encountering America through political reporting and viral videos, they encountered hotel employees, bartenders, soccer fans, Uber drivers and families tailgating outside stadiums.

ABC News documented foreign visitors marveling at such ordinary American conveniences as free ice, refillable drinks, late-night shopping and friendly service.

A visitor can reasonably dislike American politics while discovering that actual Americans are funny, generous and eager to meet somebody from another country.

Those reactions do not need to be fake.

But Influencers Understand Americans

Influencers also understand something important: Americans absolutely love watching foreigners praise America.

A video titled “I Enjoyed My Vacation in the United States” might attract a respectable audience.

A video titled “EUROPEAN ADMITS HE WAS LIED TO ABOUT AMERICA!” practically loads itself into millions of American phones.

It contains every necessary ingredient:

• A foreigner admitting defeat
• Vindication for Americans who resent foreign criticism
• An opportunity to complain about the media
• A patriotic emotional payoff
• An attractive visitor discovering unlimited soda refills

Once a creator realizes that this formula produces hundreds of thousands of views, there is an obvious incentive to continue.

Yesterday, the influencer discovered Walmart.

Today, he discovers Buc-ee’s.

Tomorrow, he will stand in front of an American flag and explain that a cheeseburger taught him the true meaning of freedom.

That doesn’t necessarily mean he disliked the cheeseburger. It means the enthusiasm may be receiving professional assistance.

Even Government Officials Joined the Influencer Hunt

At least one World Cup influencer received considerably more than ordinary American hospitality.

Houston officials reportedly spent days attempting to arrange a meeting with “Freddy,” an anonymous German creator whose enthusiastic American travel videos attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.

Freddy eventually received a barbecue lunch with Houston police officials, met the police chief, attended an Astros game with assistance from the department and appeared with the city’s mayor.

Perhaps he sincerely loved Houston. Plenty of people do.

But a visitor receiving personal attention from police leadership and the mayor is not having the same vacation as a German family attempting to decipher a rental-car agreement at the airport.

Local governments and tourism organizations understand the value of favorable influencer coverage. A cheerful foreign visitor telling Europeans that Houston is wonderful can provide publicity that would otherwise cost a fortune.

That doesn’t make the experience fraudulent. It does make it curated.

The Algorithm Is Also Playing Tricks

There is another reason the praise suddenly appears universal: social-media algorithms.

Watch one video of an Australian becoming emotional over American hospitality, and the platform notices.

Watch another, and it decides you would like to meet every European who has ever entered a Costco.

Soon, your feed is filled with foreigners announcing that America changed their lives. Meanwhile, the tourists who found the trip merely pleasant—or expensive, exhausting and ordinary—disappear completely.

Your feed is not conducting an international opinion poll.

It is showing you the material most likely to keep you watching.

This creates an illusion that the entire world attended the World Cup, discovered free refills and simultaneously reversed its opinion of the United States.

How to Spot “America-Bait”

The more sincere videos usually contain specific observations. The visitor remembers particular people, towns, conversations and experiences. He may praise American friendliness while also complaining about tipping, hotel prices, urban transportation or the distance between everything.

Real experiences are usually complicated.

America-bait is smoother.

The warning signs include shocked thumbnail faces, enormous American flags and titles such as:

• WE WERE COMPLETELY WRONG ABOUT AMERICA
• EUROPEANS CAN’T BELIEVE AMERICANS LIVE LIKE THIS
• THE MEDIA LIED TO US ABOUT THE USA
• WHY I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE AMERICA

Another clue is what happens afterward. If a creator’s positive World Cup video goes viral and his next 14 uploads consist of increasingly dramatic compliments aimed at Americans, he may have discovered more than American hospitality.

He may have discovered his business model.

The Truth Is Probably Somewhere in the Middle

It would be cynical to assume every positive reaction is fake.

The United States is frequently portrayed overseas through its most extreme political conflicts and social problems. Many visitors undoubtedly arrived with distorted expectations and were pleasantly surprised by the warmth of ordinary Americans.

Americans really can be unusually outgoing with visitors. We talk to strangers. We ask where they are from. We recommend restaurants, give directions and occasionally invite people we met 11 minutes ago to a backyard cookout.

The landscapes are spectacular. The cities are diverse. The portions are absurd. The ice is plentiful.

There is plenty to love.

But social media turns authentic feelings into products. A creator who genuinely enjoyed America can still exaggerate that enjoyment, repeat it and package it specifically for an audience eager to hear it.

The fairest conclusion is that the affection is often real—but the gushing has been edited, amplified and monetized.

Foreign visitors may have discovered that America is much better than they were told.

Some influencers also discovered that telling Americans exactly that is a remarkably effective way to get rich.

Sources: ABC News, Houston Chronicle