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Posted: Sat 11:22 AM, Aug 25, 2012
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Reporter: KKCO Email

Report: Obama has millions of "fake" Twitter followers

WASHINGTON D.C. (USA Today) A new Web tool has determined that 70% of Obama's crowd includes "fake followers," The New York Times reports in a story about how Twitter followers can be purchased.

"The practice has become so widespread that StatusPeople, a social media management company in London, released a Web tool last month called the Fake Follower Check that it says can ascertain how many fake followers you and your friends have," the Times reports.

"Fake accounts tend to follow a lot of people but have few followers," said Rob Waller, a founder of StatusPeople. "We then combine that with a few other metrics to confirm the account is fake."

Notes the Times:

If accurate, the number of fake followers out there is surprising. According to the StatusPeople tool, 71 percent of Lady Gaga's nearly 29 million followers are "fake" or "inactive." So are 70 percent of President Obama's nearly 19 million followers.

Republican opponent Mitt Romney has far fewer Twitter followers -- not quite 900,000 -- but it's a good bet that some of them are fake as well.

Both campaigns have denied buying Twitter followers.

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KKCO firmly believes in freedom of speech for all and we are happy to provide this forum for the community to share opinions and facts. We ask that commenters keep it clean, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments left here do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of KKCO 11News.
  • by Nun on Aug 27, 2012 at 03:16 PM
    A fake President should have fake followers.
    • reply
      by David on Aug 28, 2012 at 11:25 AM in reply to Nun
      As well a fake voters?
  • by Who cares? on Aug 27, 2012 at 02:43 PM
    Since when does the number of followers on Twitter dictate a person's importance? Does that mean a person who doesn't even own a Twitter account is non-existent? Who cares?! By this standard, Gaga should be running the show...
  • by Anonymous on Aug 25, 2012 at 06:59 PM
    Where is the news on the economy and where this president is taking this country? This is another wasted story and I want to know what is in his bag of tricks. His record is one of continued “failure” and “no shows”. He believes in “infanticide” and “bowing” to Muslim princes. What we need is a true free market, lower taxes and smaller Government, that policy always brings up the economy. We need to put a stop to the Bureaucratic lefts attempt to stop the economic growth. He calls our Veterans Enemies and locks them up in mental hospitals for voicing their 1st Amendment Right! God Bless America
  • by Liberty Location: Grand Junction on Aug 25, 2012 at 03:18 PM
    Weak-minded Liberals swallow Obummer's false hype and blame. He calls them his useful idiots.
    • reply
      by Anonymous on Aug 25, 2012 at 05:37 PM in reply to Liberty
      It's those Jedi mind tricks he's playing again.
  • by Anonymous on Aug 25, 2012 at 02:48 PM
    Who cares? This is nothing about nothing.
  • by Anony-mouse on Aug 25, 2012 at 02:18 PM
    @BA, I don't think it is just inactive accounts, I think they use other methods to check and see if an account was *ever* active. Of more interest to me is that they seem to be implying that only the Twitter owner can purchase these 'followers'. What would prevent someone from purchasing them, and then putting on whichever account they wanted?
  • by Darkhorse Location: Valley Wide on Aug 25, 2012 at 02:03 PM
    Obama is a fake, is this a surprise to anyone? It's publicity hype because he has no real substance.
  • by BA on Aug 25, 2012 at 01:57 PM
    So because a follower becomes inactive for a time it could be considered fake? Or are these followers completely false, and someone creates a completely false account?