https://ithaca.xyz
–
https://github.com/o-az

yikes. This is the same thing as purchasing likes on instagram or any other social media. Am I missing something?

The likes are still fake, not born out of genuine like-ness. I see likes as a general indicator of desirability/goodness. That's lost with this

Real people making money doesn't change the fact that they only "liked" the post because they were paid

It's opt-in!

e.g. bot farms spin up armies of buyable bots/follows/etc.

These are (presumably) real people who each get paid $0.50 for their likes, or $1-whatever they name their price as for their recasts