The fact he gets zapped a lot is indeed linked to his online following. This gives him extra sats.

But here, @PlebQR is not linked to one's online footprint. You pay the LN invoice, and then wait for a local to pay your QR code using fiat. It's a way for locals to "buy" bitcoin by paying someone else's fiat bill. And the way it is currently incentivized is that the exchange fee is in favor of the local. A few minutes waiting at a restaurant for your bill to settle does not seem like too bad an experience.