China’s water armies and fake news

Apparently, 20% of social media followers for many Chinese businesses are fake.

Their social media presence is inflated to improve their positioning and profiles are often managed by agencies.

These fake forces are known as water armies, because they pour water into the online dialogue.

The practice gained wider awareness when a $110 million film backed by Alibaba was suddenly withdrawn after just one weekend.

The blame was put on water armies.

I am indebted to the Financial Times magazine on 4th August for this extraordinary insight. But then, if it’s anything to do with beverages, you should be able to rely on bevblog.