Same with mobile games and it's been that way from the very start of the app stores.

Wanna get your app featured? No problem, chuck some marketing budget for 200-300k fake downloads and you are golden. A lot of platforms faked it 'til they made it and people were none the wiser.

Of course, since it worked so well, they just kept faking it all the way.

Imagine how convenient social media is since a person is tied to an online account. A person can be long dead and still be 'alive' and controlled by their handlers through those accounts. It's like extended warrnty.

Same with mobile games and it's been that way from the very start of the app stores.

Wanna get your app featured? No problem, chuck some marketing budget for 200-300k fake downloads and you are golden. A lot of platforms faked it 'til they made it and people were none the wiser.

Of course, since it worked so well, they just kept faking it all the way.