A recent article by thatsnonsense.com takes a look at Facebook posts that ask you to type “Amen” in the comments section, and discusses how these posts are most likely trying to manipulate the reader.Please read their highly informative article on like-farming and how it works. You can read their blog post here.

But for those who’d like a quick introduction (or recap), it essentially describes the exploitative, manipulative and deceptive techniques spammers use to get people to like their Facebook pages. Facebook pages that use these types of techniques to attract followers are known as like-farming pages.

Unlike legitimate social media marketing that aims to attract followers by producing productive, original or valuable information, like-farming pages generally post a series of Facebook posts designed to trick or exploit people into liking, sharing or commenting on them, which in turn results in the page accumulating followers.

The reason the spammers behind like-farming pages want so many followers is because pages with large follower-counts can be a valuable online commodity, since they can have such a large reach. They can be used to launch SCAMS or SOLD to marketing companies looking for the personal information of the people following these pages.

Emotional exploitation is a popular weapon in the like-farmers’ arsenal. Studies and research show that social media users are likely to react when a post tugs on the emotional heart-strings.

Thus, when we see a social media post of an abused animal or ill child, or something to the same effect, alongside a plea to type “Amen”, it is both easy and convenient to submit. Ultimately, the post provides an outlet to show empathy that doesn’t require a great deal of effort.

But in reality, we’re probably playing into the hands of a like-farming spammer – people who spend a great deal of time profiting from what is basically exploitation. We type “Amen” in our thousands and the Facebook post gets interaction. Facebook loves interaction and is willing to provide posts that attract a great deal of exposure on their site. This means appearing on more newsfeeds belonging to Facebook users across the globe.

So the post gets likes, shares and comments. In the background, the page that made the post is attracting followers as a kind of collateral consequence. And these pages can post dozens of these types of posts each day and rack up the followers for the page quickly. And at some point, the page is sold or used for something more sinister. Whatever it is, it’s because the person behind the page wants to make money and they don’t care who they exploit in order to do so.

So think about what are you really doing when you type in “Amen”!

Please understand that the person “SHARING” the article believes they are doing something noble – they are as much a pawn in the hands of a like-farming spammer as you are when you type “Amen”.

Partly source material from thatsnonsense.com.

God knows whether you agree with a message or not, so He does not need you to type “Amen”. So the next time you see a message like this, proudly proclaim “Amen” with your mouth and not your fingers!

But let’s not forget the non-religious who type “YES” if they agree. There are a lot of these like-farming spamming messages published every second of every day. Every request to share should be ignored unless you know the author of the article, photo, etc. Or they are a trusted source like your friendly team at the Ladysmith Gazette.

The simple truth is that no like or share is going to help a little baby get a much-needed operation, end world hunger, cure cancer or make you a better or worse Christian. All your share or like will do is make some computer nerd somewhere in the world just a little bit richer.

On that note, please share and like this article as much as possible and get this message out there!!!!!!!!!!!!

DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
If you are reading this on your cellphone and there are telephone numbers provided in the text, you can call these simply by clicking on them.
To receive news links via WhatsApp.

For the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter  why not join us there?