Devumi
{{short description|Former social media company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
Devumi was an American company founded in 2010{{cite web|title=Devumi |url=https://www.distrobird.com/companies/devumi |access-date=8 June 2024}} which sold fake influence on social media. In October 2019, Devumi settled with the Federal Trade Commission, in the agency's first-ever complaint regarding the sale of fake followers, views, and likes on social media, for $2.5 million.
Overview
While Devumi operated, it 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.{{cite web |last1=Bershidsky |first1=Leonid |title=Puffing up the number of social media followers is just a click away |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/puffing-up-the-number-of-social-media-followers-is-just-a-click-away |website=Straits Times |date=31 January 2018 |access-date=21 December 2020}} The company also operated on YouTube, SoundCloud, and LinkedIn.{{cite news |title=US company sells over 200 million twitter followers |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/us-company-sells-over-200-million-twitter-followers-1.3372635 |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=21 December 2020}}
History
In 2018, The New York Times published an expose about Devumi and its role in social media fraud, including supplying fake video views and social media account followers to customers.{{cite web |title=The Follower Factory |last1=Confessore |first1=Nicholas |last2=Dance |first2=Gabriel J.X. |last3=Harris |first3=Richard |last4=Hansen |first4=Mark |date=27 January 2018 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/27/technology/social-media-bots.html |access-date=25 May 2024}} The revelations in the story spurred action from regulators.{{cite web |last1=Liptak |first1=Andrew |title=New York's attorney general is investigating a company that sells fake followers on social media |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/28/16940208/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-investigation-fake-followers-social-media-devumi |website=The Verge |date=28 January 2018 |access-date=21 December 2020}} Devumi was forced to shut down soon after the article was published.{{cite web |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Andrew |title=FTC Rules that Selling Followers and Likes is Illegal, Along with Posting Fake Reviews |url=https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/ftc-rules-that-selling-followers-and-likes-is-illegal-along-with-posting-f/565598/ |website=Social Media Today |date=23 October 2019 |access-date=21 December 2020}}
In 2019, owner and CEO German Calas, Jr settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for $2.5 million.{{cite web |last1=Perez |first1=Sarah |title=FTC settles with Devumi, a company that sold fake followers, for $2.5M |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/22/ftc-settles-with-devumi-a-company-that-sold-fake-followers-for-2-5m/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANby-n6uI75_mNL_TM38xFUQa3ztIW64Hk1F1R3GzZVc6Zgd9QMxuQk5bAKQH2QIxmg2Xf2aeIqZZnp96O0OAPt3FTvZ4DXEX70u93tj79ARnyhycfp0P23_CZAQFvKd1wcgWc2iED3CUOf2cvNr65-8337KXv8qMF8pJdmVHf-X |website=TechCrunch |date=22 October 2019 |access-date=21 December 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Shubber |first1=Kadhim |title=Social media 'influencers' face crackdown on fakery |url=https://www.ft.com/content/9660ac88-f435-11e9-a79c-bc9acae3b654 |website=The Financial Times |date=21 October 2019 |access-date=21 December 2020}} According to the FTC this was the "first-ever complaint challenging the sale of fake indicators of social media influence."{{cite press release|title=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 |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/10/devumi-owner-ceo-settle-ftc-charges-they-sold-fake-indicators|publisher=Federal Trade Commission |date=21 October 2019 |access-date=21 December 2020}}
See also
References
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