Selection processes for award shows have always been shrouded in criticism and speculation over favoritism and background politicking. Leonardo DiCaprio has infamously never won an Oscar although there were numerous occasions when he very well should have. Critics and fans have previously pointed to the Academy Awards and other shows in disgust, but all-in-all they show up the next year to support the "democratic" process.

In an attempt to break away from the model of a governing body deciding who wins its awards, the Teen Choice Awards put the voting in the hands of the people--or so we thought. The award show banked on fan voting so much that they didn't even bother to create their own unique name; an award show by the people and for the people.

The trouble with branding yourself as a fan-voted awards show is when the fans find out that their votes are not nearly as important as they thought. In fact, fan votes might establish a "Top 4," but from there the producers take over.

Cameron Dallas, the winner of this year's most popular Vine personality award, took to Twitter after th show to shed some light on the situation. "It's funny how they told me I won the Viner award six days before the voting ended and made the runners up still vote to tweet for them."

Although Dallas later deleted the tweet, screen shots are a big deal these days, and the record will remain intact. Dallas has a reputation as a whistle blower of sorts, providing unique insight into the process by which he profited from. There are sore losers who constantly cry "retrial," but for the accusation to come from a winner is a far bigger issue.

Matt Espinosa, a fellow Vine personality nominee, seconded Dallas' notion of fraudulent voting. "Basically they picked the people almost six days before voting was done and used all of us for promotion."

The final nail in the coffin was when screen shots of the closing credits revealed the true voting practices.

"Votes are tabulated electronically and winners are determined based on the nominees in each category with the highest number of eligible votes. Teenasaurus Rox reserves the right to choose the winner from the top four vote getters."

It's unclear whether the last line is merely a formality, or something that is routinely put into practice. Whatever the verdict is, fans' confidence has been shaken by the voting revelation. It goes without saying The Teen Choice Awards has some serious damage control to do.