TOKYO (TR) – Following a string of international police raids, the shadowy world of “smartphone farms” — illicit hubs used to generate fake social media followers and views — has been found operating right in the heart of Japan, with an 18-year-old at the helm.
These digital sweatshops, which utilize rows of automated smartphones to repeatedly click and manipulate algorithms, have been tied to cyberattacks and fraud globally. Recent crackdowns have dismantled operations in the U.S., Ukraine and Latvia.
While Japanese investigative authorities claim they have yet to record a single domestic bust, local media investigations reveal a thriving underground industry, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Apr. 28).
“I can instantly increase any social media metric”
After hitting dead ends searching through the Akihabara electronics district, contacting Chinese hardware suppliers in Shenzhen and interviewing experts on Vietnamese click farms, journalists for the paper uncovered a domestic syndicate via YouTube.
The uploader of a video explaining the inner workings of a “farm” agreed to an anonymous interview. Stepping out of the shadows to meet reporters at a major Tokyo media headquarters was a young man claiming to be an 18-year-old, third-year high school student.
To prove the power of his syndicate, the teen asked a reporter for the URL to their X account. In less than a minute, the view count on a post skyrocketed by nearly 8,000.
“I can instantly increase any social media metric,” the teen boasted.
According to the high schooler, the group creates fake views and impressions and sells them to YouTubers and corporations desperate to manufacture popularity, credibility and influence online.
He claimed the operation processes anywhere from “tens of millions to hundreds of millions” of orders annually, though he insisted the group rejects requests that are explicitly illegal.
“Necessary to verify the truth”
Despite his claims of setting boundaries, experts warn that these click farms are severely warping the public’s perception of reality.
Professor Ichiro Sato of the National Institute of Informatics sounded the alarm regarding the rampant manipulation. “The information space we are seeing is completely fabricated,” Sato warned. “It is necessary to verify the truth of information through reliable media outside of social networks.”
