THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Those who choose beauty products by checking the reviews of 'celebrities' on social media, beware. Most of the accounts claiming that their dark skin turned whiter and their face brightened after using some creams are fake. A Delhi-based software marketing company, KlugKlug, has found that most of the Instagram profiles followed by youngsters are fake. There are 51.6 crore Instagram users in India alone. 60 percent of these are fake. Such 'synthetic followers' are created to increase sales of fashion products and beauty creams.
Forgers are paid lakhs of rupees by companies to praise the quality of their products. In addition to adding the review to the Instagram story, they also add voices. Most of the accounts are in women's names. Faces created with artificial intelligence (AI) will be given deep fake lip movements to give reviews. Brands that don't pay will be criticized. In the past, fake accounts used images taken from real profiles. Now chatbots including Chat GPT are used.
Many victims
50 percent of the brands praised by fakers are substandard. Last month, a person in North India who bought Ayurvedic oil for hair growth after seeing an Instagram review was allegedly suffering from hair loss after using the product. Fake reviews of restaurants are also given like this. There are people who have lost money after listening to reviews of rummy apps and loan apps. Many do not complain for fear of humiliation.
Followers for sale
1000 followers can be bought for 50 to 100 rupees. As the number of followers increases, the credibility of the account increases. The lobby of synthetic followers consists of people who comment and like each other.
Indication of fakers
Cyber Help Number 1930