(AP) — Celebrities, businesses and even the State Department have bought bogus Facebook likes, Twitter followers or YouTube viewers from techies who run offshore “click farms,” where they tap, tap, tap the thumbs up button, view videos or retweet comments to artificially inflate social media numbers.
An Associated Press examination has found a growing global marketplace for fake clicks, by the billions, which tech companies struggle to police. Online records, industry studies and interviews show companies around the world are capitalizing on the opportunity to make millions of dollars by gaming the whole concept behind social media.
In cities including Jakarta, Indonesia, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, the AP found workers who click for cash. Hundreds of websites now market the clicks, which sell for as little as half a cent each.
Five things to know about “click farms”:
1.A click farm is a business that sells clicks for fans, likes, followers, views and more.
2.People buy clicks to boost their social media numbers, which can lead to profits and popularity.
3.Buying and selling clicks violates social media user rules but is not regulated by state or federal agencies.
4.Click farm revenues are estimated to be worth hundreds of millions.
5.Sellers offer clicks for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo and more.