Same companies apply similar practices for fact checking. Just saying.
Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
61–70 of 104 posts
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#62> Meta has so far removed fraudulently applied verification badges from more than 300 Instagram profiles It's not a "Verification Badge", it's a "Famous Person" badge. If you verify someone's identity, John Doe indeed controls the instagram account with his face and name, then I don't see how there could be anything fraudulent about it if it's just a "verification badge". The verification badge is supposed to show wh…
My partner runs a small brand, which attracted a copycat page clearly designed to scam users out of money for giveaways. She attempted to “get verified” and was denied because there was not enough news stories about the brand. We own the trademark to the brand name, and the verbatim copying of the copycat clearly infringes copyright. The only option we have is to file a trademark dispute through Instagram, but that i…
They have no incentives to care. You're no one to them, and they have no legal obligation to do anything about it.
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
My partner runs a small brand, which attracted a copycat page clearly designed to scam users out of money for giveaways. She attempted to “get verified” and was denied because there was not enough news stories about the brand. We own the trademark to the brand name, and the verbatim copying of the copycat clearly infringes copyright. The only option we have is to file a trademark dispute through Instagram, but that i…
If they're actually infringing your copyright with the copied content then a DMCA takedown should be a more reasonable prospect. Most platforms have highly lubricated paths for that, and you won't need to provide the scammer with more than a contact information for your attorney. Most likely they won't respond and will just be taken down. They might file a false counternotice but if so you'll get their contact inform…
I've had my personal photos stolen by Instagram spammers, and using their DMCA takedown process, I was able to get them removed within 24 hours.
A lot of these platforms will limit or ban accounts that accrue DMCA takedowns. Sumbit a new takedown for each instance of copyright infringement you find.
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#64I thought propublica was for hard hitting investigations on big issues of public importance? Who cares about fake badges on social media?
> In response to information provided by ProPublica and the findings of its own investigation, Meta has so far removed fraudulently applied verification badges from more than 300 Instagram profiles, and continues to review accounts. That includes the accounts of Mike Vazquez and Lexie Salameh, two stars of the MTV reality show “Siesta Key.” Rather than get verified for their TV work, they were falsely branded online…
They did participate in a fraudulent scheme to obtain the badges. If they had been verified for their real accomplishments they would still have it.
Consider the following lame analogy:
A man who has been working as a programmer for 30 years has no diploma because he is self taught. He is having trouble finding a new position because for some reason companies are asking for a degree in a related field. He decides to buy one from a sketchy random university. People find out about the scheme and the diploma is invalidated. Should he be able to keep it because he probably knows everything he would be taught at university?
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#65This bears much similarity with this scam discussed on HN some days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32377063 > go to some platform with public credibility that allows you to insert unverified but credible data (Spotify, IMDb, etc.) > create entries for yourself > pay PR sites with some good SEO to publish about it > use this data to persuade bigger companies staff/algorithms to think you deserve that badge/…
I came here to note the same connection. I forwarded both articles to a spam person at Google.
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it you or a name-doppleganger? The best is when you share a name with a famous criminal, and they don't have a picture of the criminal but do find your linked-in photo ...
A (mid-20s) friend shares a name with a (70-year-old) ex-IRA member, and has been pulled out of the line for extended interrogation every time he's flown since he was a child because his name triggers anti-terrorism flags. Last I heard he even had to get a special insert for his passport where the US State department affirms that he is not, in fact, an elderly Irish paramilitant.
I wonder if airports would accept an Instagram verification badge as proof that he's not a terrorist.
Hold on, no one dare steal my new business idea.
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#67This looks like a bit similar to various 'vanity publishing' operations in the writing world. These varied quite a bit, there was an era (pre-Internet) when it wasn't uncommon for the up-and-coming corporate executive to hire a writer and publisher to write a glamorous biography and print a few thousand copies, to be handed out to whoever would take them. I suppose today that approach could plausibly provide a 'sourc…
>However, another side of the vanity publishing world is pretty scammy, basically promising writers and musicians and artists (generally ones with little commercial promise) 'a chance at success' by taking their money and doing things like this.
My wife’s mother is a lovely lady whose hobby is writing. I won’t say she’s particularly good at it, but hey, let a 60 year old lady do whatever makes her happy, right? Then one day she announced that she won a “contest” with one of her novels, and it’s going to be printed by a publisher! She was super pumped about the whole thing, but gradually it came to our knowledge that she’s gonna pay a substantial sum for this from her pension, because the “prize” was actually just a 50% “discount” on getting her book printed with this publisher…
Clearly, there was no real contest at all. This was just a vanity publisher preying on less sophisticated aspiring writers to part them from their money. It’s a complicated situation, because on one hand we didn’t want to ruin her happiness; on the other hand, she was clearly getting scammed badly… In the end we managed to convince her to go with the smallest possible quantity, which was of course then distributed mostly among family and friends.
Very disgusting and sad practice.
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#68The fake articles are incredibly bad. I hope the future Internet isn't made up of wading through mostly bot-generated nonsense like this to find real content.
DJ Dr. 6ix:
> “Umbrella,” DJ Dr. 6ix’s most recent single, has taken his listeners’ breath away. It’s only been a few months since the song was released. The song, on the other hand, has developed a large fan base in such a little time. Every day, the number of individuals who follow you increases by a little proportion.
> 6ix was born and raised in the metropolis of Los Angeles. He understands what the people of Los Angeles want from house music. They’re looking for something thrilling to start the celebration and lift their spirits. People are looking for a song to liven up the celebration. And 6ix, who is fully informed of the situation, is capable of doing so.
> Thanks to Rumor Records, 6ix has been able to share music with the world that he is proud of. He has been quite vocal during the development process. Rumor Records was kind enough to listen to his worries and requests. We are speechless when we hear the ultimate decision.
No Limit Boss:
> “Despair,” a new single by No Limit Boss, has been released. The song became highly popular within a few days of its release. It is currently quite popular on the internet, with thousands of streams available. This song was created with a lot of effort by No Limit Boss.
> No Limit Boss’s knowledge of house music allows him to create tracks that are tailored to the tastes of house music fans. As a result, it has become plainly clear that he is the artist to watch.
> “Despair,” No Limit Boss’s opus, is simply beautiful. It has made it quite clear that he is not just another artist to be compared to. No Limit Boss’s record label, Whiteout Promotions, has outdone themselves with the song’s impeccable production and mastering.
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it you or a name-doppleganger? The best is when you share a name with a famous criminal, and they don't have a picture of the criminal but do find your linked-in photo ...
A (mid-20s) friend shares a name with a (70-year-old) ex-IRA member, and has been pulled out of the line for extended interrogation every time he's flown since he was a child because his name triggers anti-terrorism flags. Last I heard he even had to get a special insert for his passport where the US State department affirms that he is not, in fact, an elderly Irish paramilitant.
Buttle, I mean… Tuttle?
Re: Fake musicians: a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme
#70> Meta has so far removed fraudulently applied verification badges from more than 300 Instagram profiles It's not a "Verification Badge", it's a "Famous Person" badge. If you verify someone's identity, John Doe indeed controls the instagram account with his face and name, then I don't see how there could be anything fraudulent about it if it's just a "verification badge". The verification badge is supposed to show wh…
> But we all know that badge is just a "Famous" badge.
Literally one of the bullet points to get verified[1]:
> Your account must represent a well-known, highly searched-for person, brand or entity.
[1]: https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/understanding...