Drawing on dozens of interviews, sales records, and trial purchases of fraudulent views, The New York Times examined how the marketplace worked and tested YouTube’s ability to detect manipulation. While YouTube says fake views represent just a tiny fraction of the total, they still have a significant effect by misleading consumers and advertisers.

Vassilev is a part can undermine YouTube’s credibility by manipulating the digital currency that signals value to users. Just as other social media companies have been plagued by impostor accounts and artificial influence campaigns, YouTube has struggled with fake views for years. With billions of views a day, the video site helps spur global cultural sensations, spawn careers, sell brands and promote political agendas. It is the most popular platform among teenagers, according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, beating out giants like Facebook and Instagram. There’s always a way around.”Īfter Google, more people search on YouTube than on any other site. “They’ve tried to stop it for so many years, but they can’t stop it. “I can deliver an unlimited amount of views to a video,” Mr. Vassilev - like a modern switchboard operator - quickly connects with another. When a supplier cannot fulfill an order, Mr. His website,, connects customers with services that offer views, likes and dislikes generated by computers, not humans. Vassilev, 32, does not provide the views himself. Working from home in Ottawa, he has sold about 15 million views so far this year, putting him on track to bring in more than $200,000, records show. Martin Vassilev makes a good living selling fake views on YouTube videos.

Youtube bots for views