Finance influencers who hyped up FTX and BlockFi are facing angry fans

Happy Wednesday, readers! Jordan Parker Erb here, reporting to you from New York.

Today, we've got a look at what happens when influencers promote a business that eventually comes crashing down around them. In the case of finance influencers who hyped up FTX and BlockFi to their subscribers, the result is a lot of unhappy, skeptical former fans.

It's yet another layer in the already messy crypto meltdown unfolding right now. We break it all down below. 

Let's get started.  

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1. As prominent crypto platforms topple, financial influencers face anger and skepticism. BlockFi has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. FTX is dealing with the fallout of a spectacular implosion. Now, the finance influencers who promoted these companies on social media are feeling the heat. 

• On YouTube, financial influencers have built loyal followings by sharing financial advice and actively promoting companies like FTX and BlockFi. As the companies crumble, those influencers are facing skepticism and backlash from fans.
• Fans are calling out creators for not addressing the crypto chaos fast enough. Some of crypto influencer Andrei Jikh's 2 million subscribers are demanding more accountability, leaving dozens of comments under his most recent Instagram post calling him a "scammer."
• Crypto firms worked with dozens of celebrities and influencers on paid partnerships; FTX, for example, poured millions of dollars into deals with star athletes like Tom Brady and the MLB.

Read the full story here.

In other news:

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4.  Elon Musk has fired so many Twitter workers by mistake that HR created an "accidental termination" category to re-onboard employees. According to a person familiar with the matter, several employees also mistakenly lost access to their work badges, internal Slack, or got locked out of their computers altogether. Read the full story. 

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7. These foodtech power players are revolutionizing how restaurants operate and deliver. Rising labor and commodity costs put a squeeze on restaurants this year, forcing them to adopt new technologies to survive. Insider identified some of the companies helping restaurants do just that — meet 29 of the hottest foodtech startups here.

8. Apple's App store has become an imitation of its former self.Apple used to carefully curate its App store, helping developers gain visibility and customers find what they needed, writes Michael Gartenberg. These days, ads have become intrusive and knock-off apps are cluttering up the user experience. Why that's not good for iPhone users or developers.

Odds and ends:

9. An Insider reporter tested every electric pickup truck on the market. Tim Levin has driven the Rivian R1T,  F-150 Lightning, and the Hummer EV, and learned all about their highs, lows, and special features. Out of all three, here's which one he'd buy.

10. Here's how to keep Facebook Messenger spam from reaching you. Tired of spammy messages trying to sell you something or send you to other websites? You can change your settings to reject most or all spam messages automatically. We explain how.

What we're watching today:

• Elon Musk's Neuralink is scheduled to host a progress update.
• Salesforce, Snowflake, and others are reporting earnings. Keep up with earnings here.
• The New York Times' DealBook Summit is happening today.

Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.

Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.