, 8 tweets, 3 min read Read on Twitter
Are you sick of dudes like this trying to sell you fake followers via Instagram ads? Well I was too, so I went scam hunting as part of a two-week TechCrunch investigation. Ride along with me... 1/
Even worse than fake followers on Instagram are apps that charge to take over your account and mass follow/unfollow people to trick them into following you back through notification spam. So I started cataloging them... 2/
Instagram supposedly banned spammy follower-buying services & their ads, yet I found 17 of them openly advertising on the app. Some said they paid Instagram $500/day. Unacceptable. 3/
In response to my investigation, Instagram blocked all 17 services from buying ads & banned some of their accounts. But why did it need to outsource this moderation to a journalist? 4/
Social networks fail to reinvest their huge profits into moderation. They're too dependent on tech solutions and don't hire enough humans. It took me just a few minutes to find 5 more spammers selling Insta followers. 5/
When popular apps neglect moderation, users pay the price. I found the same problem as I reported on WhatsApp & child sexual abuse imagery 6/ techcrunch.com/2018/12/20/wha…
Web 2.0's reckoning is here. Tech giants must stop treating us as efficient cash cows and accept responsibility for protecting their communities from spam & abuse. Here's my full report: techcrunch.com/2019/01/15/don… 7/
For more of my investigations and thoughts on how to build products right, do me a solid and sign up for my upcoming newsletter + let me know what you want me to investigate! 8/8 getrevue.co/profile/joshco…
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