Fake accounts are often part of broader networks created for a purpose, like making a particular band popular, rather than isolated actors. Instagram users had done some kind of Insta algorithm fakery, including buying followers or likes. A 2019 study estimated that over half of U.K. In 2019, WIRED estimated that fake Insta followers cost brands $1.3 billion through paying "influencers" whose follower lists were inflated. Why Are Fake Followers An Issue, Anyway?įalse accounts on Instagram are a far-reaching issue with some real consequences. Wane says third party services or apps that generate fake likes, follows, or comments can also be detected by the company's technology. "We continue to proactively fight against bad content, including content that may offer counterfeit goods, with sophisticated spam detection and blocking systems." Wane says the company's artificial intelligence system performs a million sweeps a second (!) to catch and remove spam and fake accounts, including blocking millions of fake accounts when they try to register. “We have a strong incentive to aggressively remove counterfeit content and block the individuals responsible from our platform," Raki Wane, Instagram's policy communications manager, tells Bustle. This harmless-seeming trickery can have serious consequences - both for the dynamics of the platform as a whole, and individuals who think, "Who can even tell if I buy fake followers, anyway?" Accounts with thousands or millions of followers might have artificially inflated numbers because of followers who aren't exactly, well, real: they're created, by bots, companies, or individuals, to artificially boost follower numbers and make accounts look popular. Instagram can be an awesome place to while away a few minutes - where else can you see somebody feeding their cat ice cream in Japan? - but it also has a problem: fake followers.