I'm studying Computer Science with a focus on data analytics. For the past year, I've been working as a Data Analyst Intern where I've built interactive dashboards in Power BI, developed Python scripts to automate data pipelines, and turned messy datasets into actionable insights. I'm proficient in Python, SQL, and Power BI, with hands-on experience cleaning data, performing statistical analysis, and creating visualizations that help people make decisions.
My portfolio at prince-portfolio.site showcases my data analysis projects, my resume and my latest work. This project was born out of my natural curiousity and love for the Nigerian music industry.
I created an automation system that successfully manipulated the voting process for the Headies Awards, a major Nigerian music industry award show. The Headies Awards relied on a simple Google Form for their voting system, which I was able to exploit to submit hundreds of votes for specific artists. My program:
Generated realistic African identities with proper names, phone numbers, and email addresses Submitted votes that appeared to come from real people across multiple African countries Successfully bypassed all security measures on the voting platform Maintained a ~90% success rate over 1700+ form submissions Directly influenced the actual results of the awards competition
As someone with a deep love for afrobeats, I was shocked to discover that the Headies Awards, one of the most influential award shows in afrobeats was using basic Google Forms for voting. This presented both a technical challenge and an opportunity to highlight critical security issues that could affect artists I follow and appreciate. I created this project to:
- Demonstrate the real-world security vulnerabilities of simple voting platforms
- Explore practical applications of the automation skills I've been developing
- Advocate for fairer systems that protect the integrity of awards that impact afrobeats artists
- Combine my interest in AI development and data analysis with my passion for afrobeats
- Create a meaningful portfolio project that showcases my self-taught technical abilities
My software generated believable African identities by: Creating realistic African names based on common naming patterns from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa Generating appropriate phone numbers with correct country codes and formats Creating email addresses that follow common patterns people use Ensuring no identity was reused within a 2-hour window
For example, it created identities like "Wanguiito Mwangingi" with a Kenyan phone number and "Segunbayo Adeisha" with a Nigerian email address.
The program didn't just submit forms rapidly like most bots would. Instead, it: Took random pauses between actions, just like a real person would Occasionally took longer breaks (as if the person got distracted) Moved through the form at a human-like pace Visited the main website first before submitting the form, like a real visitor would
To prevent the Headies organization from detecting the automated voting, the software: Used different internet connections by prompting me to switch my VPN regularly Made each submission look like it was coming from a different web browser Randomized technical details that websites use to identify users Handled errors intelligently, backing off when the system might be suspicious
The program kept detailed records of: Its success rate (which reached ~90% in my testing) Statistics about how many votes it submitted
My project exposed vulnerabilities that have far-reaching implications for the Nigerian music industry, where botting has become a major issue affecting artists' careers, award outcomes, and the integrity of music charts.
Botting involves using software to manipulate music-related metrics. There are two main types prevalent in Nigeria:
Voting Bots: Programs that automatically submit votes in award contests, like the Headies Awards, to influence results. Streaming Farms: Operations that use bots or multiple devices to generate fake streams on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube, making songs appear more popular than they are.
These practices give some artists an unfair advantage, while others struggle to compete fairly.
Botting creates significant challenges for Nigerian artists, from skewing award results to distorting chart rankings:
Unfair Competition: Streaming farms boost songs to the top of charts, helping artists secure deals and endorsements. This makes it harder for artists with genuine fans to gain visibility. A Reddit user noted, "For uprising artists... it can be tough seeing someone else who 'doesn't deserve it' take your spot" (https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/1c4kv8f/how_musicians_and_labels_use_streaming_farms_to/). Award Manipulation: Voting bots can sway award outcomes, as seen with the Headies Awards' vulnerable Google Form system. This undermines the credibility of awards that are critical for artists' recognition and career growth. Financial Losses: Streaming platforms like Spotify may withhold royalties or remove tracks with fake streams, hurting artists who use these services. Globally, fake streams cost the industry $300 million annually (https://businessday.ng/arts-and-life/article/explainer-streaming-farms-black-market-of-music-business/). Erosion of Trust: Fans and artists lose faith in charts and awards when botting is rampant. Nigerian journalist Joey Akan said, "Apple Music Top 100 has become a marketing tool for Nigerian musicians, not an independent curation of the country's listening habits" (https://businessday.ng/arts-and-life/article/explainer-streaming-farms-black-market-of-music-business/).
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Chad Focus Streaming Fraud: Nigerian rapper Chad Focus used streaming farms to inflate his streaming numbers and taught others to do the same. His actions led to a 30-month prison sentence for fraud, showing the legal risks of botting (https://thenativemag.com/explained-nigerian-music-streaming-farm/).
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BNXN vs. Ruger Feud: In 2022, artists BNXN and Ruger clashed on X, with BNXN accusing Ruger of using streaming farms to boost his numbers. BNXN stated, "There are streaming farms in Nigeria now. A room where your label bosses pay money to get your songs up by automation, no real fans" (https://notjustok.com/article/streaming-farms-in-nigerian-music-ecosystem/). This feud highlighted how botting creates tension among artists.
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Label-Driven Streaming Farms: Major Nigerian labels reportedly use streaming farms to keep their artists competitive. Olayinka Ezekiel, a Lagos-based digital distributor, explained, "They want the bragging rights. They want to be able to control deals, they want to be able to control figures" (https://thenativemag.com/explained-nigerian-music-streaming-farm/). This systemic use of botting distorts the industry.
My program demonstrated the critical security flaws in using Google Forms for high-stakes voting:
- No Real Identity Verification: Anyone can create and submit unlimited fake identities
- No Effective Rate Limiting: My software could submit multiple votes by changing connection methods
- Poor Bot Detection: The system couldn't differentiate between my automated program and real humans
- No Geographic Restrictions: Votes could be submitted from anywhere in the world
- No Cross-Field Validation: The system didn't verify relationships between names, emails, and phone numbers
The technical results were impressive:
- ~99.5% success rate across 17,574 form submissions (17,483 successful out of 17,574 attempts)
- Created hundreds of unique, realistic-looking African identities
- Maintained high reliability despite occasional network timeouts
- Complete evasion of any security measures
- Demonstrated multiple security vulnerabilities in a production voting system
Even when faced with network errors or connection timeouts, the system's retry mechanisms ensured very few votes were lost, maintaining a high success rate throughout all batches of submissions.
- Total Submissions: 17,574
- Successful Submissions: 17,483
- Unsuccessful Submissions: 91
Note: These numbers are a rough estimate. The log file contains approximately 20,000 lines and is scattered, so there might be some inaccuracies.
While I did influence actual results, this project was created with the primary goal of exposing vulnerabilities so they could be addressed. By demonstrating this security flaw, I hope to encourage:
- The Headies Awards to invest in proper voting infrastructure
- Other organizations to take online voting security seriously
- The development of better standards for online voting systems
- Awareness among the public about how easily online voting can be manipulated
This project is presented for educational purposes only. I do not endorse or encourage the use of similar techniques to manipulate voting systems or streaming platforms for personal gain. The tools and methods described here demonstrate security vulnerabilities that should be fixed, not exploited.
The music industry should be a fair playing field where artists succeed based on talent and genuine fan support, not technical manipulation. By exposing these vulnerabilities, I aim to contribute to a more secure and fair ecosystem for all artists.
My experiment demonstrates why organizations should never use simple Google Forms for high-stakes voting that affects artists' careers and instead invest in proper systems with:
Identity verification Sophisticated bot detection Rate limiting and anomaly detection Cross-field validation
The Nigerian music industry faces real challenges from botting that threaten its integrity and fairness. By highlighting these vulnerabilities as part of my learning journey, I hope to contribute in a small way to encouraging more secure voting systems for music awards.
Through this project, I've been able to apply my self-taught skills in automation and data analysis to a real-world problem while exploring AI-assisted development techniques—combining my professional interests with my personal passion for afrobeats and the Nigerian music scene.
Visit my portfolio at prince-portfolio.site to see more of my data analysis projects and latest endevours that demonstrate my always evolving technical skills.