Devumi was an American company which sold fake influence on social media. They were the first company punished by the United States government for selling followers and likes on social media.

Overview

Devumi sold more than 200 million fake followers. Even at its peak the company was tiny with their main office located above a restaurant in Florida. The firm primarily sold Twitter bots sourced from operations like Peakerr, SkillPatron, JAP, Cheap Panel and YTbot at a markup to celebrity and commercial clients.[1] The company also operated on YouTube, SoundCloud, and LinkedIn.[2]

History

In 2018,, The New York Times published an expose about Devumi which received worldwide attention. The revelations in the story spurred action from regulators.[3] Devumi was forced to shut down soon after the article was published.[4]

In 2019 owner and CEO German Calas, Jr settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for $2.5 million.[5][6] According to the FTC this was the "first-ever complaint challenging the sale of fake indicators of social media influence."[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Bershidsky, Leonid (January 31, 2018). "Puffing up the number of social media followers is just a click away". Straits Times. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  2. ^ "US company sells over 200 million twitter followers". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Liptak, Andrew (January 28, 2018). "New York's attorney general is investigating a company that sells fake followers on social media". The Verge. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Hutchinson, Andrew. "FTC Rules that Selling Followers and Likes is Illegal, Along with Posting Fake Reviews". Social Media Today. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Perez, Sarah (October 22, 2019). "FTC settles with Devumi, a company that sold fake followers, for $2.5M". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Shubber, Kadhim (October 21, 2019). "Social media 'influencers' face crackdown on fakery". The Financial Times. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  7. ^ "Devumi, Owner and CEO Settle FTC Charges They Sold Fake Indicators of Social Media Influence; Cosmetics Firm Sunday Riley, CEO Settle FTC Charges That Employees Posted Fake Online Reviews at CEO's Direction" (Press release). FTC. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
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