Why you shouldn’t type ‘Amen’ on a Facebook post

We take a look at those Facebook posts that ask you to type ‘Amen’ in the comments section, and we discuss how these posts are most likely trying to manipulate you.

If you haven’t read any of our articles on like-farming and how it works, you can read our blog post here.

But for those who’d like a quick introduction (or recap) it essentially describes the exploitative, manipulative and deceptive techniques spammers use to get people to like their Facebook pages. Facebook pages that use these types of techniques to attract followers are known as like-farming pages.

Unlike legitimate social media marketing, that aims to attract followers by producing productive, original or valuable information, like-farming pages generally post a series of Facebook posts designed to trick or exploit people into liking, sharing or commenting on them, which in turn results in the page accumulating followers.

The reason the spammers behind like-farming page want so many followers is because pages with large follower-counts can be a valuable online commodity, since they can have such a large reach. They can be used to launch scams, or sold to marketing companies looking for the personal information of the people following these pages.

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Emotional exploitation is a popular weapon in the like-farmers arsenal. Studies and research show that social media users are likely to react when a post tugs on the emotional heart-strings. Thus when we see a social media post of an abused animal, or ill child, or something to the same effect, alongside a plea to type “Amen”, it is both easy and convenient to submit. Ultimately, the post provides an outlet to show empathy that doesn’t require a great deal of effort.

But in reality we’re probably playing into the hands of a like-farming spammer. People who spend a great deal of time profiting with what is basically exploitation. We type ‘Amen’ in our thousands and the Facebook post gets interaction. Facebook loves interaction and is willing to provide posts that attract it a great deal of exposure on their site. This means appearing on more newsfeeds belonging to Facebook users across the globe.

So the post gets likes, shares and comments. In the background the page that made the post is attracting followers as a kind of collateral consequence. And these pages can post dozens of these types of posts each day, and rack up the followers for the page quickly. And at some point, the page is sold, or used for something more sinister. Whatever it is, it’s because the person behind the page wants to make money, and they don’t care who they exploit in order to do so.

So what are you really doing when you type in ‘Amen’?

While you may think you are somehow helping or at least showing empathy, what you’re really doing is helping immoral like-farmers exploit Facebook users to make money, by causing a photo to spread online that has most likely been stolen elsewhere from the Internet and used without permission.

The next time you see a post imploring you to type ‘Amen’ in to the comments, think twice. Is it really because the post is empathetic to the cause in question, or do the people behind the post just want it to go viral across Facebook with your help?