Chicago Sun-Times benches Richard Roeper after finding out he bought Twitter followers
The New York Times recently did a deep dive on the “Follower Factory,” or the new practice of Twitter users buying bot followers to boost their signal. Comedian and TV writer Joe Mande did it on a lark—and has kind of lived to regret, since he quit Twitter and all—but this inorganic growth of your base is big business. It’s also questionable enough to lead to some consequences for the folks who have taken advantage, including Chicago film critic and columnist Richard Roeper.