A TikTok of a group of people drinking pints outside the Blue Posts in Soho has split the internet.
If you haven't seen the video, let me describe it to you.
With Dusty Springfield's Spooky playing in the background, a man clutching a Guinness has a moustache and floppy hair. He laughs, keeping his frame firmly in place, and turns to face another person who has a moustache. The other guys laugh as they turn to face the camera, which is probably leaning against a ledge.
@maxlpk A historic moment was captured by @kyarahboon
♬ Spooky - Dusty Springfield
What is the Pints, chit chat and good people TikTok that has divided the internet?
Some people have been agitated and irate over what could have been a contrived, but innocent, TikTok of friends at the bar. They have complained of its pretensions, with blokes in vintage clothing chatting away, drinking, while filming themselves.
“One of the hardest watches this year," one commentator wrote.
While another wrote, “Nightmare pint rotation."
“‘Why do you hate London’,” a third asked, adding: “*gestures broadly at this video*”.
Influencer Max Lepage-Keefe created the TikTok, and says he was just filming his mates on a night out.
Recently, a Palace x Stella Artois partnership took place at the London pub where the boys were talking. It was transformed into a "Palace Artois" with special-edition barware and signs. Moreover, Max is consuming Guinness, "which isn’t fancy, but it goes back to this whole thing of caff culture, bloke-core, fry-ups, beans on toast… labour, salt of the earth”, according to him.
Lepage-Keefe told The Tab: "I've had people commenting saying that I've got a trust fund. I wish I did. I'm not a Tory, I work two jobs... I didn't say a word in this video and it's rattled so many people. I love the pub and I like dressing how I want to dress. So, just combine the two with a pint and it's all right!."
To find out why the video elicited the response it did, Eloise Hendy of VICE spoke with Dr Niki Cheong, a lecturer in digital culture and society at King's College London.
"The reaction to this video, particularly the negative aspects, are commonplace now on social media: Everyone has an opinion and they want to share it," she said.
"I think influencers are an easy target for online attacks and mockery because they generally function on the basis of authenticity, when so much of their content is staged."
