Fake Twitter glass houses
The Daily Telegraph loves Photoshop and today’s page six certainly delivers, with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore being depicted as the Twitter bird.
Moore and the Tele have a long history of animosity but what could the Lord Mayor have done to deserve such an unflattering depiction?
As the story explains, the high profile politician has tens of thousands of apparently fake Twitter followers. It suggests that buying fake followers is a trait of those on Twitter who “want to show they are well liked and it encourages even more people to follow them.”
A quick search of fake follower analysis tool Twitter Audit indeed suggests Moore has 23,965 fake followers. Which is a lot. But it’s not as many as a certain high profile tabloid website which has 31,545…
Interesting, the story you link to has been deleted. Ah, ok, just found it. They’ve deleted that one and moved it to behind the newsplus premium content hard paywall: Lord Mayor Clover’s a Tweet cheat
But “Consultant Laurel Papworth said”
Is the author of this petty, spiteful article a Clover Moore supporter, because it sure looks that way.
First there’s the apparent need to desperately defend her against all logic and rationality, then there’s the fact that just like so many of Clover Moore’s deceitful undertakings, statistics are completely misrepresented to suit her agenda.
Seriously, what kind of moron expects us not to notice that even though the Tele’s fake follower numbers are higher, they are FAR lower when it comes to what really matters – percentages.
Smear campaign FAIL.
@Chucky. I am trying to work out what planet you are from? You probably would be a big fan of the NRA, if you lived in the USA, I think. OR you are having a go at satire…?
As for The Tele, well who on earth takes that comic book drivel seriously?
Everyone gets fake followers, Chucky, so the fact that Clover Moore attracts some is n either here nor there. If the Tele’s accusation is that Moore has deliberately done so in order to make it appear she has more of a constituency, let them substantiate that claim. Or at least out it to her. Or apply the same test to several politicians.
But let’s not forget that constituency: Moore keeps winning elections. Five for State Parliament. Three for Lord Mayor. Yet hardly a day goes by on which the Tele or Alan Jones attempts to declare her and her policies illegitimate.
Yep, as usual, Clover Moore’s sheeple impotently attempt to defend her deception.
It easy to see why she does fakes her numbers. Clover Moore’s loyal flock are so pathetically superficial and vacuous, that the more ‘followers’ she claims to have, the more fashionable they would think it is to be part of it, so the more they would ignorantly think they were part of something ‘special’.
The writer of the comment from 12:41 pm claims to be “Impartial”.
Oh, the irony.
Ah, looks like it wasn’t deleted, you’d just posted the wrong link. Still carrying the June 03, 3.54pm timestamp. Also, these ‘fake’ follower counts are hardly conclusive. According to that particular tool Mumbrella has 20k fake followers, SMH 190k and The Age 222k. Or apply it to any politician anywhere. Also, the Daily Tele is hardly one who should be highlighting dodgy social media followers. Just look at their Facebook page. Less than 20% of their 660k fans are from Australia
@chucky, struggling with both the concept of Dr Mumbo and irony in general, I see.
Of course “Moore keeps winning elections”, Marrickvillain. She chooses to base herself in one of the most vacuous, superficial, self serving electorates in the country!
Your desperate denial, ‘sub-editor’, does not alter the actual facts.
It’s unfortunately very normal to have fake followers on social media accounts. On Twitter the number of ‘normal’ fake followers falls between 5-25%. Substantially more than that and we’re getting into seriously sus territory.
I know for certain we’ve never bought followers (what’s the point? Engagement is all that really matters in social) so to test it I had a Twitter Audit run on our account for Red Burlesque.
I wasn’t expecting many at all – if any – but there they were: 5% of our followers are officially nothing but a bit of code.
So back to Clover with 63% fake followers. And they haven’t been bought?!
Mind you, the mentioned tabloids aren’t anywhere near out of the fake woods either!
People should be careful when casting aspersions in regard to fake followers. I can’t remember who the MP is now, but in the Queensland election it was found that a number of them had massive fake follower numbers that had never been purchased by the owner of the account at all, but by competitors so that nasty stories could be written about the MP in question. Pretty much taking advantage of the lack of Social Media knowledge of the MP in involved. It is a pretty poor form of trying to discredit a political opponent. 🙁
Oh dear chucky, did you forget to take your pills this morning?
Why is it that the Liberal Party social media crew always land here whenever one of their opponents is mentioned?
Seriously, does anyone really give a flying f*** about Clover’s lefty Twitter followers?
@nic You are funny… that would the same Laurel Papworth noted for: “Where is the social media manager for @LindtCafeAus”
I have to get on my stationary bike and backpedal now 🙂
I dunno, ‘Birdman’, why is it that the left-wing denialist squad are always so pathetically desperate to silence the truth about their star players?
What the Tele really needs is fake website visitors to boost its dismally low online readership figures.
Also Chucky – trying to remain anonymous is easier if you don’t post the same comment on Facebook with your real name.
You’re the one “trying to remain anonymous”, Champ, not me. Almost everyone I know calls me chucky.
Got any more pathetically ignorant drivel to contribute?
Chucky’s a seriously dumb name Chucky. Good luck with that.
Chucky, Why is it that those that support the views of the Tele always have so much vile to spit out? Take a chill pill and do some meditation dude!
Well there you have it. Reading the petty, puerile comments from these mental midgets, it’s not at all difficult to see why the ‘loony left’ are viewed as a pathetic joke by genuinely rational, intelligent, educated people.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bf2nhEoZ.....efault.jpg
@Chucky. You exemplify ignorance and bitter hatred, which is accustomed to anyone who takes the paragraph’s of the Daily Terrorgraph seriously.
Gooday!
I think about 60% of the comments on this story are fake.
I think about 63% of the comments on this story are fake, or should be
On dear. https://www.twitteraudit.com/tonyabbottMHR
Your pathetically desperate left-wing delusion, ‘Crikey’, is not my problem.
@Chucky.
I rest my case.
Sure, Champ, sure thing. Whatever you say.
Such a ‘blissful’ life you must live.
I think you need some professional help Chucky.
Sure, Champ, sure thing. Whatever you say.
Such a ‘blissful’ life you must live.
I think everyone needs to also consider the fallibility of the “audit” process. According to its website, it is “not perfect”. Case in point – I am meant to have 9% fake twitter followers. Being in the delightful position of only having 160 followers, I can go through them and categorically say that none of them are “fake” people. Some of them just don’t use Twitter much. And in fact, I would probably be considered a “fake” user too, sometimes.
Here’s how the website explains how they calculate a fake account: “Each audit takes a random sample of 5000 Twitter followers for a user and calculates a score for each follower. This score is based on number of tweets, date of the last tweet, and ratio of followers to friends. We use these scores to determine whether any given user is real or fake. Of course, this scoring method is not perfect but it is a good way to tell if someone with lots of followers is likely to have increased their follower count by inorganic, fraudulent, or dishonest means.”