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New York times: President Lenin Moreno’s adviser acquired thousands of fake followers for election campaign accounts
Posted On 30 Jan 2018
Ecuadornews:
In an investigation of the American newspaper New York Times it is revealed how the company Devumi sells followers of Twitter and retweets to several people in the world.
Among them is the President of the Republic, Lenin Moreno, whose adviser, according to the North American newspaper, would have acquired “tens of thousands of followers and retweets for the electoral campaign accounts of Moreno”, in which he was elected President of the Ecuador.
In a cybernetic world, social networks have taken center stage among followers, fans and supporters of music stars, movies, and even political figures. The New York Times, in its article entitled “The Factory of Followers” authored by Nicholas Confessore, Gabriel J.X. Dance, Richard Harris and Mark Hansen, publish on how to obtain false followers.
“Everyone wants to be popular on the internet. Some even pay for it. Discover the black market of social networks “is the introductory phrase that accompanies the entire story. In the publication, it is indicated that the American company called Devumi has raised millions of dollars in the global market of fraud in social networks. “Devumi sells Twitter followers and retweets to celebrities, businesses and anyone who wants to be more popular or influence the internet.
Using a set of at least 3.5 million automated accounts each of which has been sold many times the company has provided its customers with more than 200 million followers on Twitter, “according to an investigation by The New York Times. The accounts that most resemble real people show the pattern of a kind of large-scale social identity theft.
At least 55,000 Devumi accounts use the names, profile pictures, places of origin and other personal details of real Twitter users, including minors, according to a data analysis conducted by the Times.
Currently, false accounts that have been created by governments, criminals and entrepreneurs infest social networks. According to some calculations, up to 48 million active Twitter users, almost 15 percent, are automated accounts designed to pretend to be real people, although the company says that number is much smaller.
Devumi products also serve the needs of politicians and governments of the rest of the world. “Last year, an adviser to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno acquired tens of thousands of followers and retweets for the electoral campaign accounts of Moreno,” the newspaper said in its digital version.
Meanwhile, Devumi’s founder, German Calas, denied that his company sold fake followers and said he knew nothing about the social identities stolen from real users. “The accusations are false and we are not aware of any of these activities,” Calas said in an email exchange in November. (I)
