2017 has been the year of learning that everything is fake and nothing matters. To that end, here's a vending machine that apparently lets like-seeking Instagram users literally purchase fabricated popularity on the spot:
This particular vending machine inside a shopping center in downtown Moscow was first spotted by journalist Vasily Sonkin before being documented on Twitter by Alexey Kovalev, according to Motherboard. "First time I saw it I was so baffled that I forgot to snap a pic," Kovalev said Tuesday.
For the reasonably ludicrous price of a mere 50 Russian rubles ($.89), Instagram users hell-bent on procuring falsified social media engagement can get 100 likes. The machine also allows for the purchasing of followers, with 100 followers going for $1.77.
Kovalev told Motherboard he's seen similar vending machines all across the region. On Twitter, Kovalev responded to a "fake news" joke about the photo by vowing to film the machine in action. "This world is doomed," Kovalev added. Very true.
Though the vending machine photo is garnering a lot of negative attention, the business of selling Instagram likes itself is nothing new. A quick, soulless Googling of "buy Instagram likes" will give you plenty of options if you feel like leaping headfirst down the rabbit hole of existential nihilism.
