TL;DR: I used AI to "scale" my marketing with fake personas and fabricated stories. Got publicly called out on Reddit. The irony: I was selling authenticity with fake marketing. Here's what happened and what I learned about the tension between AI speed and real trust.
The App
I'm a solo developer building ProofMi - an app that cryptographically proves photos are real and unedited. Take a photo, share it, anyone can verify it's authentic.
The use cases seemed obvious: creators proving their work isn't AI-generated, marketplace sellers building buyer trust, dating safety, insurance claims. Real problems that need real solutions.
The "Marketing Strategy"
Like many indie developers, I read all the growth hacking content. Reddit marketing guides, "authentic engagement" playbooks, community posting strategies.
Here's what I did:
- Created fake personas: I posted as an "artist getting accused of using AI" and as someone who'd "been catfished three times"
- Led with fake problems: Posts designed to make people ask "what app?" so I could mention ProofMi
- Never disclosed I built it: Just casually mentioned the app like I'd discovered it
- Put fake testimonials on the website: "James K., Online Seller" didn't exist
- Made up statistics: "90% of online photos can be manipulated" - I couldn't cite that
I thought I was being clever. "Organic" marketing. "Native" content.
What Actually Happened
Someone checked my post history.
"You've suggested ProofMi in various comments without disclosing that you are its creator... which is just a covert method of advertising, since you're leading people to ask about the app."
Then the killing blow:
"If you cannot be honest and direct then I cannot trust your app"
Another user found my posts about building with Claude AI and used it to question the app's quality. They called out the website's AI-generated look.
The thread got upvotes. People agreed with them. My potential users saw me as untrustworthy.
The Irony
I was selling authenticity with fake marketing.
Let that sink in. My entire product is about proving things are real. And I was lying about who I was and fabricating stories to promote it.
The cognitive dissonance is embarrassing in hindsight. But in the moment, I convinced myself it was just "marketing."
What I Got Wrong
1. I thought covert = organic
There's a huge difference between "not being pushy" and "actively deceiving people." I confused the two.
2. I underestimated how public everything is
Post history is public. People check. If you post about your app on Monday and pretend to be a random user on Tuesday, someone will connect the dots.
3. I prioritized reach over trust
I optimized for upvotes and mentions instead of genuine conversations. The result: lots of eyeballs, zero trust.
4. I didn't think about the product-marketing alignment
If your product is about authenticity, your marketing better be authentic. The messenger IS the message.
What I Changed
The Website
- Removed all fake testimonials
- Removed unsourced statistics
- Added honest "I'm a solo developer, I need your feedback" messaging
- No more made-up user quotes
The Marketing
- Every mention discloses I'm the creator
- No more fake personas or fabricated stories
- Direct asks: "I built this, looking for feedback"
- Value first, promotion only when relevant
The Mindset
- One genuine conversation > 1000 fake upvotes
- If I haven't experienced the problem, I say so
- Trust is the only metric that matters for an authenticity product
The New Approach
Now when I post, it looks like this:
"I'm the developer of ProofMi. I built a photo verification app and I'm trying to understand if this solves a real problem. If you have 5 minutes to try it and tell me what sucks, I'd genuinely appreciate it."
Is it as "optimized" for engagement? No.
Is it honest? Yes.
Will people trust it more? I hope so.
What I'd Tell Other Indie Developers
1. Disclosure costs nothing
"Full disclosure: I built this" takes three seconds to type and makes everything that follows credible.
2. Your product and marketing should align
If you're building a privacy tool, don't track users for marketing. If you're building an authenticity tool, don't fake your marketing. Consistency matters.
3. Getting called out is expensive
One public callout can undo months of "clever" marketing. The reputational cost isn't worth the short-term gains.
4. Real feedback > fake validation
I had zero validated users after all that marketing. Zero real conversations. All that time spent crafting fake stories could have been spent having real ones.
Where I Am Now
- App built and working
- Zero validated users (starting fresh)
- Trust damaged in some communities
- Unknown if product solves a real problem
But at least I'm being honest about it now.
AI Speed vs. Authenticity
There's an uncomfortable tension in the AI age: you can generate content fast, but authenticity requires something you can't automate.
AI helped me:
- Write marketing copy in minutes
- Generate "testimonials" that sounded real
- Create multiple personas without the work of actually being those people
- Scale content creation beyond what one person could do honestly
The speed was intoxicating. I could do in an hour what used to take days.
But here's what AI can't fake:
- Real experiences - I hadn't actually been catfished three times
- Real relationships - Those Reddit users weren't my friends, they were marks
- Real trust - Built over time through consistent honesty
- Real feedback - From people who've actually used the product
AI amplifies whatever you put into it. If you put in authentic experiences, you get authentic content faster. If you put in fake premises, you get polished lies faster.
The lesson isn't "don't use AI." I'm writing this with Claude right now. The lesson is: AI is a multiplier, not a replacement for truth.
You can use AI to communicate your real story better. You can't use it to invent a story that never happened.
The Bottom Line
If you're an indie developer doing "growth hacking," ask yourself:
- Would you be embarrassed if someone found this post in your history?
- Does your marketing align with your product values?
- Are you building relationships or just collecting impressions?
I learned the hard way. Maybe this saves someone else the lesson.
I'm still building ProofMi. If you want to try it and give me honest feedback (positive or brutal), I'd appreciate it: proofmi.xyz
Full disclosure: I wrote this with AI assistance (Claude). The lesson and embarrassment are 100% mine.
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