Amazon Techie Raises Alarm Over Fake Salary Posts On X: "Created Just To Farm Impressions"

The growing trend of flexing sky-high salaries, elite tech jobs, and dramatic AI doomsday fears on X is facing fresh scrutiny after a viral post exposed it as little more than "engagement farming."

06 Apr 2026, 04:35 · www.ndtv.com

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An Amazon employee warned against trusting viral tech salary posts on X as they are often fabricated
A fake story about a college senior earning Rs 89 LPA at Google was shared to expose misinformation
The original poster admitted the story was made up to show how easily fake narratives spread online

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An Amazon employee has warned social media users against trusting viral, often fabricated, tech salary posts on X, identifying them as "engagement farming." The warning follows a fabricated post about a high salary designed to demonstrate how easily exaggerated, fake narratives gain traction online. The issue came to light when X user Ojas Sharma shared a story about a college senior allegedly working at Google with an Rs 89 LPA package, claiming he relied heavily on AI for coding. Turns out, the whole thing was made up. Sharma revealed the post was a test to show how quickly misinformation spreads online, saying many viral posts about tech salaries and AI anxiety are fake, created just for attention.

"If he is using AI, then we are officially cooked. The crazy thing is everything I just said above is completely made up. And honestly, a lot of what you see on Twitter is exactly like this: fake stories created just to farm impressions. So don't believe everything you see online," Sharma wrote.

Joining the conversation, Amazon tech professional Neha Sharma posted a similar-sounding viral-style anecdote about a fictional friend earning Rs 5 crore at Amazon while relying heavily on AI for coding, only to later reveal that the story was entirely fabricated.

"The crazy thing is everything I just said above is completely made up. And honestly, a lot of what you see on Twitter is exactly like these fake stories created just to farm impressions. So don't believe everything you see online," she wrote.

See the post here:

The post quickly gained massive traction, striking a nerve with users who had long suspected that many so-called "insider" tech stories circulating on the platform were exaggerated or outright fabricated.

Meanwhile, other users posted sarcastic and humorous comments in response. One user wrote, "I also know a guy on the Artemis 2 crew. He told me they are using AI to drive the spaceship; honestly, I think we are cooked."

Another commented, "For sure fake news spreads fast."

A third said, "Bro just described 90% of LinkedIn too. The '89 LPA package' pipeline is everywhere."

A fourth added, "Half of Twitter is storytelling, not reality."

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