Is This Instagram Model Posing as a Black Woman to Gain Followers?

Emma Hallberg, who is white, denies purposefully trying to deceive her followers.

A popular Instagram model and influencer is denying accusations that she posed as a black woman in order to gain followers.  

Swedish model Emma Hallberg, 19, is white, but is accused of darkening her skin tone in an effort to appear black after a Twitter user posted two images of Hallberg side by side, one with light skin and the other with dark skin.

Hallberg insisted the released images are "just two different pictures taken on two different seasons of the year" and denies that she is trying to fool her followers.

“I haven’t done anything to make myself look darker,” the influencer told "Good Morning America." “I get the tan naturally when I’ve been in the sun.”

But some on social media say Hallberg is "guilty of 'blackfishing,'" that is, using makeup or articial tanner to appear darker than she really is. 

"The girl was clearly posing as black," one person wrote.

Hallberg, whose Instagram account is @eemmahallberg, is also known for her makeup tutorials via YouTube, and in her videos, she says she uses darker foundation to match the rest of her body.

“I cannot change the way I was born,” she said on "GMA." “The things I’ve been accused of and the things people are mad about are the things that are natural on me, like my lips and my nose and I’ve never claimed to be black or biracial or anything other than white.”

Other users on her Instagram are defending her saying, “No matter what you’re beautiful” and “Pretty Model, don’t look like she’s pretending to be anything.”

RELATED STORIES