Buying social media followers - millions of false Twitter accounts

The New York Times conducted an investigation which revealed that well-known people were buying their observers on Twitter. Millions of accounts on the site can be fraudulent, some of which are stolen from users. Figures in social media are important - for a long time many of us have been convinced that the number of observers and fairy tales translates into real interest and visibility of the profile. However, when over time there were reports of various forms of fan acquisition or online amusement, such as fairy-tale farms or bots, more attention was paid to other factors, such as involvement. However, it takes time to change the way of thinking, so not everyone has yet left behind the belief that the numbers visible by the profile in social media are a key factor in assessing its popularity. It is connected with the development of business providing for a fee any number of false account fans. The New York Times has verified that Devumi is one of the companies that operates in this way and provides followers.
http://micco.se/2010/04/twitternytta-42010/comment-page-1/
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2017/11/churches-use-twitter-280/
http://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540socialmedia2013/twitter/swot-analysis-of-twitter/

Identity theft

The New York Times has investigated the disgraceful discovery of at least 55,000 accounts that Devumi offers using images and profiles of real users. Mainly for minors. An example of this is Jessica Rychly, which is described in the article informing about the phenomenon. The 19-year-old from Minessota has a Facebook profile and his way of conducting business is very different from that of a Twitter account. On Zuckerberg's website you will find her funny self with her boar and jokes with friends, while on the website with her quarter, she promotes cryptovalent, Canadian investments in real estate and a radio station in Ghana. He uses Arabic or Indonesian, which he does not really know, to communicate the tweets of others. This is because her identity at Twitter High School has been stolen and is now being used by companies such as Devumi.

Atypical business idea

Devumi is a company that offers the purchase of fans on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn or SoundCloud. It is possible to order from 500 to 500 thousand fans on Twitter, from 2 thousand to 5 million views on YouTube or from 5 thousand to 1 million views on SoundCloud. Depending on the selected number of recipients, it is possible to ensure a gradual increase in the number of them. Why? Different time frames are supposed to give the impression of a natural flow of people interested in the profile. The once used practices of buying fans once started to be noticed by the more and more conscious users of social media, and the very dynamic development of the account aroused suspicions. Certainly it is for this reason that the company offers the service in an appropriate time perspective. Prices start at $10 for the lowest fans on Twitter, $17 for displays and $29 for subscribers on YouTube.

Fake users

Significant differences in profile management and their observations indicate the extent of theft of user accounts and identities in social media. The American company sells observers on Twitter and various forms of activity to celebrities and brands that want to be more visible. Although Twitter thinks that this number is smaller, it is estimated that nearly 15% of the users of the service, that is as many as 48 million profiles are automated accounts, designed to simulate people. Facebook, on the other hand, has announced that it may have up to 60 million false user profiles on its website. Although trading in user profiles and such forms of customer acquisition are prohibited, companies such as Devumi openly offer their services. The company, in an interview with The New York Times, refuted the charges made against it and its founder denied that the identity of the real users had been stolen.

According to NYT, however, it has over 200,000 clients, including reality show stars, athletes, comedians, TED speakers, pastors and models. They have bought fans or outsourced it to their employees, agencies or friends. According to the American publisher, this source of information was used by actors such as John Leguizamo, billionaire Michael Dell, model Kathy Ireland, sports commentator Ray Lewis, and even businesswoman Martha Lane Fox or advisor to the president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno. Most of these persons indicated that the responsibility for the purchase of false observers rested with the staff or other persons to be held accountable.

Virtual currency

The growing popularity of influencer marketing activities may have contributed to some extent to the increase in the scale of the phenomenon. Until recently, both users and brands were convinced that the number of fans should be the decisive factor in the cooperation. In many cases, this is because the popularity is due to affection for the person