Hittingthe “like” button on Facebookseems innocent enough but your likes might not be used for what you think.
A newsocial media scam hasemerged. “Like farming” is when socialmedia users are posting false pictures on Facebook to farm “likes”.
“Ninety-threepercent of Facebook users engage in some form of 'like' behaviour monthly,”writes digital consultant Beverly Crandon in her article: “What does a like toyour Facebook fan page really mean?”
The“like” button has long been used as a promotional tool for businesses,according to business community manager, Rebekah Monson. The like button hasnow been changed to be the Facebook substitute for “follow” or “share.” Thismeans that any item “liked” will automatically be shared to your Facebook walland your friend's feeds making “likes” highly sought after, so much so, thatpeople are using back-handed methods of obtaining them for different reasons.
Some ofthese people are merely amused by the sheer amount of fake likes they can get.Others send you to pages you have no intention of visiting. It is even a clevermarketing technique. US online company CafeMom posted “Click 'like' if you loveyour kids!” This post got their page over 1.3 million “likes”.
“Likefarming” also involves selling these “likes” for cash. After the “likes”skyrocket to the thousands, maybe millions, they are then sold to businesses aspart of a Facebook page. The business now has access to the newsfeeds of allwho “liked” the picture and floods their pages with promotional material.
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