Social media 'paid followers' racket rocks Bollywood: Here's the rate card

Mumbai: As the Mumbai police unearthed a racket of fake followers on social media platforms it has also come to light that there are fixed rate cards for every likes, views, comments and retweets.

According to the sources the social media marketing agencies charge 0.50 paise per like or view on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube and Re 1 for every comment or retweet. The rate applies to bulk purchase.

Apart from this, to make any post viral, a hefty amount ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh rupees is charged.

In some cases, the help of social influencers is also taken. These people already have huge number of followers and they get paid from Rs 1 to 2 lakh to share or retweet a post at the behest of the marketing agency.

These agencies have a large data of WhatsApp and email users which they use to defame individuals or spread rumours or specific messages. 

This data is available based on gender, age, religion and postal code. According to the requirement, the messages are sent to the target audience.

There is a separate rate for making photoshopped images or memes and then it can also be made to go viral.

Up to Rs 5 per follower is charged for increasing followers. You may have to spend Rs 2.5 lakhs to increase 50 lakh followers.

One person handles as many as 25-50 fake accounts and a team of a few such people work from an unknown location. They use proxy servers so that their location is difficult to trace.

This activity of getting fake followers on social media is called inorganic growth.

According to the police, several Bollywood celebrities, sports personalities and some high profile builders might be guilty of actually buying followers to stay ahead in the social media race. 

The cops have found out that a few international companies are also involved in the scam. Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has formed an SIT to investigate this as cops sense this might also pose a threat to law and order situation in the country.