- Bot Use Allegations
- Influencer's Response
- Community Reaction
A crypto influencer has been accused of using bots to manipulate social media metrics shortly after winning a best content creator award at the DeGen Summit in Singapore.
Bot Use Allegations
The self-described sleuth known as ZachXBT accused the influencer who goes by Professor Crypto on X of using thousands of bots to deceive people into thinking he has influence. ZachXBT also implied the action could breach a United States Federal Trade Commission rule prohibiting anyone from selling or buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as followers or views generated by a bot or hijacked account.
Influencer's Response
Professor Crypto has yet to publicly respond to the accusations but has removed several posts showing him collecting an award for best content creator at the DeGen Summit in Singapore. The DeGen Summit was a TOKEN2049 side event that awarded Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, whose opinions hold sway over a large group or industry.
Community Reaction
Professor Crypto’s X account, created in February 2018, has 132,000 followers but only posted 102 times. Meanwhile, other industry commentators claim they had never heard of Professor Crypto before he won the award. NFT artist Matthew Varnell and Wildcat Labs co-founder Laurence Day both expressed their surprise and confusion over the situation.
Professor Crypto has not yet responded to the accusations. The community continues to discuss the situation and awaits an official response.
