LA Food Influencer Dragged for Post After Restaurant Declines Free Meal | Eater LA

"An independent St. Louis–area restaurant, Corner 17 was contacted by LA influencer Antonio Malik (@antonio_eats_la), who requested $100 in dining credit for a review; after the restaurant declined, Malik still visited and posted Instagram stories calling the place the “worst dumplings ever” and saying the food “tasted like ass.” Corner 17 posted screenshots of Malik’s request, saying they “felt threatened by this media influencer,” and criticized what it called an intentionally bad write-up from a large-following influencer that could ruin businesses; Malik has made his account private and defended his methods and review as honest, insisting he would not post a negative review simply because a restaurant declined to “work” with him." - Farley Elliott