Lots of reality stars earn additional income by posting clickbait links on their social media accounts.
The arrangement is usually a very simple one:
Some fledgling celebrity gossip outlet pays the star for a #LinkInBio and a misleading post that falsely suggests one of their co-stars is pregnant, or has been arrested, or has entered rehab.
The ethics of these arrangements are questionable in the best of cases, and a recent deal struck by Maci Bookout has led many to argue that legal action should be taken against the Teen Mom OG star.
Maci has been criticized in the past for making false claims on her page in the form of bogus clickbait headlines.
Usually, the controversy blows over, and Bookout goes right back to posting the kind of content that got her in trouble in the first place.
This time, however, the uproar is so deafening that it might actually force Maci to issue and apology.
The trouble began last month, when Farrah Abraham posted a photo of her daughter Sophia taking a pregnancy test.
Many of Farrah’s followers took issue with the post, which makes sense when you consider that Sophia is only 12, and she’s being raised by a woman who became rich and famous by getting pregnant while she was still in her teens.
Farrah tried to dispel concerns by revealing that Sophia loves to take pregnancy tests, and she does so on a regular basis.
Needless to say, that explanation didn’t put many minds at ease.
And what does all of this have to do with Maci?
Well, it seems that the folks who pay Bookout to post their bait decided to capitalize on this scandal with an article that was undeniably in poor taste — but Maci shared it anyway.
“Trauma – Farrah releases shocking statement amidst Sophia pregnancy test scandal,” read the headline posted by Maci earlier this week.
“Dude. This is so gross. Why would Maci share that? Sophia is like what ? 12. This has got to be illegal,” one commenter wrote
Some jumped to Maci’s defense by pointing out that she didn’t write the headline herself, and there’s a chance what someone who works for her posted the link.
But those arguments don’t hold up under even the slightest scrutiny.
For one, you can pay someone to manage your accounts, but at the end of the day you’re 100 percent responsible for everything that gets posted online with your name on it.
On top of that, would Maci be mad if Farrah posted something so inappropriate about her kids?
Almost certainly — so she really can’t claim she’s not responsible for perpetuating a dangerous rumor about a 12-year-old.
We’re guessing Maci won’t be issuing Farrah an apology, as the two have never exactly been besties.
But as much as it pains us to side with Ms. Abraham, Maci is definitely in the wrong here, and at the very least, she owes apologies to Sophia Abraham, as well as to any of her followers who have been taken in by her BS tabloid links.