'Fake follower' factory Devumi denies NYT exposé on shady practices
Twitter board member Martha Lane Fox didn't deny having fake followers on the company's network after a New York Times investigation exposed her. She blamed it on a "rogue employee."
But in regards to the actual company that supplied her with fake followers, Devumi is denying such shadiness and claiming the New York Times report is "inaccurate." The denial arrived six days after the investigation published.
A spokesperson for Devumi sent Mashable the following statement:
Media reports regarding Devumi's business practices are inaccurate. The company does not create accounts nor bots.
Devumi uses publicly available third party services and is a reseller of products. Regarded as a market leader, the company has internal procedures to test everything that they buy to ensure they bring the best in service to the market. Devumi has been in business for over 8 years having recently relocated their headquarters to Denver as they continue to transition out of their Palm Beach office.
The story described a real person named Jessica Rychly, who created and operates her own Twitter account. But there's also a fake account that claims to be the same person, according to the NYT report, which is owned and operated by Devumi. Now, Devumi is denying the allegation that they created the account.
"Devumi is devoted to helping people grow their social media followings," a company spokesperson replied when Mashable asked what being a "reseller of products" meant in literal terms.
The provided statement also points out that the company is relocating its offices. NYT's investigation cited their office in West Palm Beach, Florida as the company's headquarters, but today's statement indicates the company recently relocated to Denver.
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Since NYT's story published, some users have reported massive drops in followers. Twitter has declined to comment on the matter, other than a statement that the tactics in NYT's story about Devumi are against the company's policies.
Topics Social Media X/Twitter Celebrities
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
