There is a reason your X feed has turned more toxic. Have you heard of ‘engagement farming’?
Provocative and socially divisive posts from paid users are getting more traction due to changes in policy under Elon Musk, experts say.
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On August 20, X user Ishan Sharma tweeted about his experience of tipping at a New York restaurant. “Tipping is such a scam in New York,” Sharma declared in a post. In a week, the tweet had 52 million views.
Compare this to tweets about some recent global developments. US politician Kamala Harris' post announcing her presidential nomination has 3.6 million views since August 24. The Indian men cricket team captain Rohit Sharma's post a day after winning the T20 World Cup on June 29 got 4.8 million views. Singing sensation Taylor Swift has 35 million views on a tweet posted on April 19 announcing her latest album.
Ishan Sharma is no celebrity. He is not running for the presidency nor does he have fans across the world. His LinkedIn profile says he is a 22-year-old engineering dropout who runs a YouTube channel where he “talks about career, freelancing and business”. It has more than .8 million subscribers. He has also co-founded a marketing agency that helps “startups and individuals grow organically on social [media] through various viral content marketing strategies”.
Why did a tweet about him having to tip more than he wanted to gain such huge traction? Experts who analyse trends on social media told Scroll that this is what “engagement farming” or...
