In an era dominated by digital content, a high follower count or a booming view counter can instantly confer authority and trust.
However, the price of artificial popularity on social media has dropped significantly, making it remarkably easy for dubious pages and online scams to appear legitimate at a fraction of a cent per interaction.
While many people assume that building a large, engaged audience requires significant time and financial investment, the reality behind online metrics is often far simpler. Purchasing artificial views from third parties is the cheapest form of fake engagement available.
On TikTok, 1,000 views can be bought for as little as US$1.40, while the same number on YouTube costs around $6.70. Shares and reposts — often used to project organic viral reach — are also easily acquired, ranging from $17 per 1,000 on YouTube to $68 per 1,000 on TikTok.
Even follower counts are easily manipulated. Acquiring 1,000 fake followers costs between $14 and $20 on platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), with YouTube subscribers costing around $78.
The real danger lies in how easily everyday web users trust these inflated numbers. Research and analysis from cybersecurity company Surfshark highlight that the primary risk is not merely the low cost of buying fake metrics, but rather the general public’s lack of scepticism when browsing online.
Users frequently interact with advertisements or promotional pages without active verification, falling into the trap of assuming high numbers equate to safety.
Fake comments, however, require more effort to maintain because platforms actively filter out basic bot interactions.
As a result, artificial comments are the most expensive engagement type, ranging from $93 per 1,000 on YouTube to $287 on Facebook. When a page exhibits high engagement paired exclusively with generic, positive comments, extra caution is warranted.
To avoid falling victim to deceptive marketing or outright scams, users should adopt proactive verification habits:
Evaluate the engagement ratio: A healthy account typically receives likes equivalent to 1% to 5% of its total follower base. Extreme mismatches signal artificial inflation.
Inspect the comments: Repetitive, generic praise (“Great post!”, “Love this!”) posted within narrow timeframes usually points to automated bots.
Audit follower profiles: Legitimate accounts have varied communities, whereas bot networks often feature generated usernames, recent creation dates and empty profile pages.
Source: Surfshark
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