The New York Times has an expose on how celebrities, athletes, pundits, and politicians are buying fake followers for influence. Many accounts are derived from stolen profiles and sold by companies such as Devumi, which essentially profits from social media fraud. Twitter is being criticized for not proactively reviewing accounts for impersonation.



The actor John Leguizamo has Devumi followers. So do Michael Dell, the computer billionaire, and Ray Lewis, the football commentator and former Ravens linebacker. Kathy Ireland, the onetime swimsuit model who today presides over a half-billion-dollar licensing empire, has hundreds of thousands of fake Devumi followers, as does Akbar Gbajabiamila, the host of the show “American Ninja Warrior.” Even a Twitter board member, Martha Lane Fox, has some.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – The Follower Factory: Inside Social Media’s Black Market