View source for Devumi

{{short description|Former social media company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
'''Devumi''' was an American company founded in 2010<ref>{{cite web|title=Devumi |url=https://www.distrobird.com/companies/devumi |access-date=8 June 2024}}</ref> 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 bot|Twitter bots]] sourced from operations like Peakerr, SkillPatron, JAP, Cheap Panel and YTbot at a markup to celebrity and commercial clients.<ref>{{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}}</ref> The company also operated on [[YouTube]], [[SoundCloud]], and [[LinkedIn]].<ref>{{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}}</ref>
==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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> The revelations in the story spurred action from regulators.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Devumi was forced to shut down soon after the article was published.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
In 2019, owner and CEO German Calas, Jr settled with the [[Federal Trade Commission]] (FTC) for $2.5 million.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> According to the FTC this was the "first-ever complaint challenging the sale of fake indicators of social media influence."<ref>{{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}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Ghost followers]]
* [[Influence-for-hire]]
* [[Rantic]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Social media companies]]