Tony Abbott on Facebook: 50,000 Indian Followers in One Week can’t be Wrong.

Tony Abbott is enjoying a resounding upsurge in popularity in India (if the Prime Minister’s Facebook page is anything to go by).

According to Independent tracking website Socialbakers, Mr Abbott’s Facebook page grew by over 50,000 followers in the space of one week.

In fact, according to the data,  Mr Abbott’s fan base grew by 20,000 followers from India in just one day alone!

Now only a cynic would doubt Mr Abbott’s popularity, given the remarkable success of the Federal Budget and popularity of the newly-coined “efficiency dividend,” so it’s entirely possible that 50,000 fans from New Delhi decided to throw their support behind Mr Abbott’s foray into social media.

Coincidentally there are a number of companies that offer “paid for” services to boost social media “Likes” and “Followers” in exchange for cash in order to give the impression that an individual’s or company’s social media presence is more popular than it actually is.

Known as “click farms,” companies like this one typically outsource the work to impoverished nations where there is no shortage of cheap labour.

The Gutter Trash spoke to one boss in New Delhi who boasted of being “king of Facebook” for his ability to create accounts and then use them to create hundreds or thousands of fake likes.

For the workers, though, it is miserable work, sitting at screens in dingy rooms facing a blank wall, with windows covered by bars, and sometimes working through the night. For that, they could have to generate 1,000 likes or follow 1,000 people on Twitter to earn a single US dollar.