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GitHub has a very strange side brewing...

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github, github stars, github followers, github clout, fake github stars, fake github accounts, github black market, underground github, github clout hacking, github economy, buying github fame, fake github forks, github marketplace, github trending manipulation, software clout, coding fame, open source clout, fake dev accounts, github scam, developers buying stars, github tos, shady github practices, github hacks, open source credibility, programmer culture, tech commentary

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An investigation into the underground economy of fake GitHub engagement, including services that sell artificial stars, followers, forks, and entire accounts. The content explores different tiers of fake engagement, from cheap anonymous accounts to premium services using legitimate profiles, and examines motivations like impressing investors, recruiters, and establishing credibility for potential security exploits. Detection tools like Astronomer can identify fake engagement, but the practice highlights how even technical platforms remain vulnerable to manipulation and social engineering.

The Dark Side of GitHub

We seriously need an algorithm to detect and report to Google the number of fake reviews on Google Maps.
Tons and tons of 5-star reviews on restaurants. You open their profile: no photo, only one or maybe five reviews ever made and the text on the review looks like the most generic version that ChatGPT could generate. I have to go through each review and validate whether it’s a real person or a bot.
Article on The Verge: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24254882/google-maps-removing-fake-business-reviews-warning-message" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Google Maps is cracking down on fake reviews</a>

Wait I have a GitHub profile, can I get paid for fake engagement?!?
$5 a fork, and I need that USDC up front bro 🤣
JK but it made a good joke 😜

Every single form of social media is subject to botting, manipulation, gaming, and so on. Social media itself is heavily manipulated by corporations and even governments with impunity, as shaping consensus online is important for propaganda reasons. Including marketing, which is basically just propaganda for corporations. Botting, astroturfing, consensus cracking, censorship, and so on. It’s a whole hidden layer most users are completely unaware of. Every single metric can be hacked, every discussion can be crafted. Social media is the forefront of propaganda in our time.

all social media services available, followers,likes,views, accounts etc available