Thriving celebrities of today rely heavily on the number of views they receive on social networking sites. The more followers or “likes” a post or page has, the more attention is instantly drawn to it. Large amounts of followers tends to draw in curious individuals. We ask ourselves, if something is liked by thousands of people, why don’t I like it too? We take it upon ourselves to stay connected to the hottest topics and trending information. However, what if these “likes” are all simulated? Is it fair when actual involvement becomes a fake popularity contest?
Recently, a Twitter fraud has been uncovered and rapper Dave Murell may not be as popular as he appears. In order to gain publicity and acknowledgement by the public eye, Murell pays to have individuals purchase thousands of twitter accounts. The fake user then follows Murrell’s account and boosts his profile’s popularity. This plan could potentially work but the true fans are being misled. Although they may enjoy his music, some may simply be attempting to follow the crowd.
Many of today’s celebrities have their fame completely built around social media. They work hard and obtain the following that they deserve. Twitter was not created to bring false popularity upon individuals. Twitter promotes freedom of human expression, not fake and multiplied expression. Abusing social media in this manner is unjust and the option of buying out thousands of accounts defeats Twitters intended purpose. Thinking freely is a gift that we all are able to benefit from. Though it is our choice to pinpoint what we enjoy, we may be improperly led in an otherwise untraveled direction. Hardworking and talented individuals get the short end of the stick when usurers cheat the system.