Virtual influencer Knox Frost is trying to raise money for WHO to fight coronavirus
Knox Frost, a virtual influencer, — yes, that's a thing — is doing his part to help the World Health Organization (WHO) fight the new coronavirus.
Frost has more than 1 million followers on Instagram and the account is set to leverage that power to do some good.
Knox, a CGI creation that "lives" in Atlanta sort of looks like a video game character, posted an Instagram Friday morning urging folks to social distance and to support WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
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Influential, an influencer marketing and social data firm, is behind the push.
"As we’ve all seen in the media, Gen Z and Millennials need to take this to heart. Having a voice like Knox’s will certainly raise awareness, reinforce COVID-19 best practices, and drive donations for WHO," said Influential CEO Ryan Detert in a statement. "In the era of social distancing, virtual influencers are quickly emerging as an innovative new part of the influencer landscape, so we are excited to have Knox Frost onboard to participate in our campaign with WHO."
The post from Knox — the text of which was shared with Mashable ahead of posting — highlights WHO's good work and will direct followers to a link for donations. Knox also advises: "DON’T FORGET, keep social distancing and washing your hands."
For its part, WHO has said it appreciates that groups with large audiences are reaching out to help fight the pandemic.
“In general, the World Health Organization has received a lot of support from media organizations around the world to share accurate information and advice to protect themselves from coronavirus,” said Paul Garwood, acting head of the leadership unit at WHO’s Department of Communication.
Topics COVID-19
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
