A NORTHSIDE local election candidate has laughed off suggestions that he bought Facebook
‘likes’ to boost his online profile.
Independent candidate, Sean Tyrrell from Ballymun, says he woke up one day over the Christmas holiday to find Facebook likes for his campaign page had soared from around 300 to over 2,000 likes – and that Istanbul in Turkey was the most popular city for his followers.
The sudden surge was picked up on by political activists who took to Twitter and Facebook to query Tyrrell’s new likes in what he described as an
“orchestrated campaign
?
“I think people went out of their way make me
‘trend’ on Twitter,
? he told Northside People.
“Over Christmas I just woke up and there was an extra 2,000 likes sitting there and I just said
‘thank you very much, I’ll take that’.
“I honestly, genuinely haven’t a clue where they came from.
?
Facebook likes can be unofficially bought online from so-called
‘click farms’, which are typically based in Asia. They employ low-paid workers who are given multiple Facebook, Twitter or YouTube accounts to
‘follow’ and
‘like’ clients who pay around half a cent per click.
Likes have been snapped up by celebrities, businesses and even the US State Department and the phenomenon is now a multi-million euro industry. It’s estimated that over 14 million Facebook accounts are bogus, with many used by click farms.
Tyrrell says he only found out you could buy Facebook likes last week when he spoke with his website designer.
“When I saw the likes I just thought that either I’d suddenly become very popular or there was some kind of glitch with Facebook but either way, I said I’d take them,
? he laughed.
“I was talking to my website designer about it and he told me it was possible to buy likes. He told me anybody could buy likes for my page and he said it could be somebody close to me or it could be another candidate or group trying to make me look bad.
“The possibilities are endless, although it’s a very unlikely possibility that I’ve suddenly become popular in Istanbul!
?
“Anyway, if I was to buy likes I’d be buying them locally!
?
Tyrrell believes the jump in likes for his Facebook page was highlighted as part of a politically orchestrated campaign.
“I personally don’t know why they’d feel so threatened by a 20-year-old independent candidate,
? he said.
“I’ve seen this kind of stuff happening to other candidates and politicians before and my policy is to just delete their comments and block them.
?