Real Money, Fake Musicians: Inside a Million-Dollar Instagram Verification Scheme (propublica.org) 20
A jeweler. A plastic surgeon. An OnlyFans Model. They and others received a blue check in likely the biggest Instagram verification scheme revealed to date. After ProPublica started asking questions, Meta removed badges from over 300 accounts. From a report: To his more than 150,000 followers on Instagram, Dr. Martin Jugenburg is Real Dr. 6ix, a well-coiffed Toronto plastic surgeon posting images and video of his work sculpting the decolletage, tucking the tummies and lifting the faces of his primarily female clientele.
Jugenburg's physician-influencer tendencies led to a six-month suspension of his Ontario medical license in 2021 after he admitted to filming patient interactions and sharing images of procedures without consent. He apologized for the lapse and is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from female patients who say their privacy was violated. But on Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, and in roughly a dozen sponsored posts scattered across the web, Jugenburg's career and controversial history was eclipsed by a new identity. On those platforms, he was DJ Dr. 6ix, a house music producer who's celebrated for his "inherent instinctual ability for music composition" and who "assures his followers that his music is absolutely unique." It's an unconvincing persona -- perhaps even less so once his "music" is played. But it was enough to secure what he wanted: a verification badge for his Instagram account.
The coveted blue tick can be difficult to obtain and is supposed to assure that anyone who bears one is who they claim to be. A ProPublica investigation determined that Jugenburg's dubious alter ego was created as part of what appears to be the largest Instagram account verification scheme ever uncovered. With a generous greasing of cash, the operation transformed hundreds of clients into musical artists in an attempt to trick Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, into verifying their accounts and hopefully paving the way to lucrative endorsements and a coveted social status. Since at least 2021, at least hundreds of people -- including jewelers, crypto entrepreneurs, OnlyFans models and reality show TV stars -- were clients of a scheme to get improperly verified as musicians on Instagram, according to the investigation's findings and information from Meta.
Jugenburg's physician-influencer tendencies led to a six-month suspension of his Ontario medical license in 2021 after he admitted to filming patient interactions and sharing images of procedures without consent. He apologized for the lapse and is currently facing a class-action lawsuit from female patients who say their privacy was violated. But on Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer, and in roughly a dozen sponsored posts scattered across the web, Jugenburg's career and controversial history was eclipsed by a new identity. On those platforms, he was DJ Dr. 6ix, a house music producer who's celebrated for his "inherent instinctual ability for music composition" and who "assures his followers that his music is absolutely unique." It's an unconvincing persona -- perhaps even less so once his "music" is played. But it was enough to secure what he wanted: a verification badge for his Instagram account.
The coveted blue tick can be difficult to obtain and is supposed to assure that anyone who bears one is who they claim to be. A ProPublica investigation determined that Jugenburg's dubious alter ego was created as part of what appears to be the largest Instagram account verification scheme ever uncovered. With a generous greasing of cash, the operation transformed hundreds of clients into musical artists in an attempt to trick Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, into verifying their accounts and hopefully paving the way to lucrative endorsements and a coveted social status. Since at least 2021, at least hundreds of people -- including jewelers, crypto entrepreneurs, OnlyFans models and reality show TV stars -- were clients of a scheme to get improperly verified as musicians on Instagram, according to the investigation's findings and information from Meta.
Why (Score:4, Interesting)
Why is it so hard to get verified, seems like anyone who proves who they are should be verified.
Re: (Score:2)
It's because the blue check does not mean what they say it means.
I couldn't get a blue check by showing them my passport or something.
You have to be somebody. Or at least convince them that you are.
Re:Why (Score:5, Interesting)
It's because it's a way for social media companies like Twitter/Facebook/Instagram to dangle a carrot for celebrities and influences with a largish following to in the form of exclusivity.
If just anyone could get "verified" the blue check would lose it's appeal for such people, but yeah the point of it should be to show the person you're interacting with is the person and not some bot, you'd think.
Re: (Score:2)
because it's just a misspelling of "glorified".
Re: (Score:3)
Everything you need to know about blue checks is the fact that Twitter wouldn't give Rush Limbaugh a blue check even though they knew it was his account, and he's obviously famous enough.
the gift (Score:1)
Rule 34B (Score:2, Funny)
If it exists, there will be fraud for or on it.
Fake summaries on slashdot posted as real (Score:2)
The only useful bit in this drawn-out story fluff is that apparently real people with real jobs got "verified" as something they're not. Whether this is even a "scheme" or just instagram ineptitude isn't even clear from the summary. Who made instagram the arbiters of truth, anyway?
So did the current slashdot editors get hired on the strength of instagram verifications as "editor" but are they in reality something else, like rocket surgeon or plastic engineer, or what?
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Who made instagram the arbiters of truth, anyway?
Since this story is about Instagram, don't you mean "Who made Instgram the arbiters of truth on Instagram, anyway?" The answer to that should be pretty obvious.
Whether this is even a "scheme" or just instagram ineptitude isn't even clear from the summary.
With a generous greasing of cash, the operation transformed hundreds of clients into musical artists in an attempt to trick Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook, into verifying their accounts
What's unclear about this? Dr. Whogivesafuck paid someone to make Instagram think he's something he's not, in order to get verified. Clearly it's both: The "operation" discovered ineptitude in Instagram's verification process and schemed with their clients to exploit it.
Re: (Score:2)
Suppose they gamed a system and nobody played (Score:1)
So is he a musician? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
It's an unconvincing persona -- perhaps even less so once his "music" is played
What was that about "Not a word in TFS about his music." now?
This isn't about "cancelling" anybody. I played softball in a beer-league, ergo I could call myself a baseball player. If I paid some company to pump up my persona to make it look like I'm a professional in order to get verified, they would be well within their rights to tell me to piss off. Apparently IG doesn't like it when you lie on your resume.
Re: (Score:2)
I worked with someone who was both an emergency room doctor and composer for video game soundtracks. I got to contribute to a couple songs and had two others handed to me in sketch form to finish, because he was just too busy.
I also worked with someone whose father was a psychologist and an award-winning jazz musician.
And of course I think everyone knows about Brian May.
So the real problem here is that you can't verify that the blue check is verifying competency or expertise, making it worse than useless. J
Re: (Score:2)
So the real problem here is that you can't verify that the blue check is verifying competency or expertise.
I don't know that that's the intent of the "verified" checkbox. I'm not an IG or Twitter (they do the same thing, don't they?) user, but I'd have to assume that the intent of the checkmark is merely to indicate that "this famous person is who they purport to be". I'd also have to assume that Dr. Whatever isn't famous enough in his chosen profession to obtain such a checkmark, therefore had to manufacture a different persona and popularity. I'd guess that it's easier to get verified as a musician than as