The state of New York has stepped up its efforts to combat corporate manipulation of social media by targeting a so-called ‘follower factory’ registered under a New York address.

Chief prosecutor Eric Schneiderman has revealed that the state has opened a formal investigation into Devumi, a firm which offers high-profile social media accounts the chance to artificially increase their follower count and online credibility.

Devumi is active on sites such as Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, selling likes, retweets, and comments. According to its website, customers willing to pay ten dollars will receive an extra five hundred twitter followers, while more lucrative transactions of $22,000 will generate five million YouTube views.

The accusations stem from a lengthy report published last weekend by The New York Times, entitled ‘The Follower Factory’.

A number of recognisable accounts have been caught up in the allegations, including The Great British Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood, member of the House of Lords Martha Lane Fox, and CNN contributor Hilary Rosen.

The New York Times charges Devumi with creating follower ‘bots’ based almost entirely on real users’ identities and account details. It is on these grounds of “Impersonation and deception”, illegal under New York state law, that Schneiderman has launched the investigation into Devumi.

Schneiderman added that “The growing prevalence of bots means that real voices are too often drowned out in our public conversation. Those who can pay the most for followers can buy their way to apparent influence”.

The report comes amid a period of intense scrutiny for social media. A study published last week revealed that trust in social media is at an all-time low, with only one in four Britons responding that they trust such sites as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram when it comes to news and information.

The Edelman trust barometer also reported that the dissemination of ‘fake news’ and propaganda, both of which are enabled by artificial bot accounts, were of particular concern for social media users. Earlier this month, Twitter admitted that around fifty thousand Russian twitter bots engaged with or posted about automated material concerning the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Responding to The NYT’s findings, Twitter commented that “The tactics used by Devumi on our platform and others […] are unacceptable to us. We are working to stop them and any companies like them”.