Offshore 'Click Farms' Inflate Social Media Numbers

You’ve probably heard that there’s a huge industry devoted to inflating social media accounts. Italian security researchers found that creating fake Twitter followers generated between $40 and $360 million last year.

Bogus Facebook activity brought in about $200 million.

What you may not know is there are also “click farms,” where workers sit and tap away for as little as a half cent per click.

There’s also an industry building to delete fake followers, including a London company called Status People, for those trying to get rid of fake accounts.

Martha Mendoza of the Associated Press has taken a deep look and joins Here & Now’s Robin Young.

• Read Mendoza’s story, “Selling Social Media Clicks Becomes Big Business”

Guest

• Martha Mendoza, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Associated Press. She tweets @mendozamartha.

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