Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by problems on Friday January 27, 2017 @04:37PM (#13502906)

The answer probably isn't satisfying - pranks on friends, it's cheap and is usually a good laugh. 20k followers for around $10 found on a blackhat SEO site. 19.5k of which are still around after about a year.

You could totally use it for business purposes too - as a really shitty form of advertising or just to make your popularity look higher. I doubt it'd be too effective, but hey, it's cheap.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by nickfromseattle on Friday January 27, 2017 @05:45PM (#13503432)

I'm familiar with this space and I think the biggest benefit is providing 'social proof' to new websites / startups / brands.

I know from my own experience when doing research on a company - whether it's a prospective client, vendor or competitor, I'll click through to their social properties to gauge their traction.

I definitely look at their engagement ratios to determine whether their social following is organic or fake, but I think typical consumers miss this.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by andai on Friday January 27, 2017 @04:59PM (#13503072)

I see... Could someone buy 200k for $100?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Massive networks of fake accounts found on Twitter by chillydawg on Friday January 27, 2017 @08:43PM (#13504305)

I'm not sure, but I expect it gets harder to hide the fakes at larger scales.

[ Parent | on HN ]