Fake followers are rising, can influencer marketing still be trusted?

There’s a cold reality in the influencer marketing world that few talk about openly: the rise of fake followers and fraudulent engagement. It's the kind of deception that goes unnoticed for a while, but when it catches up, it creates a serious trust issue. For brands and influencers, this isn’t just a minor hiccup, it’s an industry-threatening problem. Having spent years navigating this space, I’ve seen how the allure of inflated numbers has caused brands to make costly mistakes, wasting marketing budgets on influencers with artificial reach.

It’s tempting to look at influencer profiles with hundreds of thousands, even millions, of followers and assume those numbers translate into authentic, engaged audiences. But the truth is far murkier. Fake followers often purchased through bots or engagement pods have become a widespread issue, and the statistics are shocking. A recent study showed that over 58% of Instagram profiles audited in some regions contained significant numbers of fake followers. It’s not just an isolated issue; it's pervasive, and it’s growing.

As a founder, I've seen brands invest significant budgets into influencer campaigns only to discover the disappointing truth fake followers don’t translate to real influence. These influencers may have millions of followers, but their audience is disengaged, inactive, or entirely fabricated. It’s not just the dollars at stake; it’s the trust that both brands and consumers place in the influencer marketing industry that’s on the line.

The damage goes beyond the dollars

As someone who’s built an influencer marketing agency from the ground up, one of my biggest concerns is protecting the integrity of our work. When brands realise that they’ve been misled, it undermines the entire influencer marketing ecosystem. I’ve witnessed the frustration of brands who’ve worked with influencers, believing they were investing in an authentic partnership, only to discover that their campaign was sabotaged by fake engagement. This leads to more hesitation and skepticism in the industry, and before long, even well-meaning influencers and brands are caught in the web of doubt.

The unfortunate truth is that social media platforms, while making efforts to detect fraudulent accounts, have not done enough to combat this. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Meta still lack the sophisticated tools needed to thoroughly vet the authenticity of followers and engagement. For brands, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to know who they can trust.

The Tweeb Tool: My solution to the problem

That’s why, at Social Tweebs, we made a conscious decision to tackle this issue head-on and ensure we provide our clients with only the most authentic influencers and trustworthy partnerships.That’s why we’ve turned to “The Tweeb Tool” to combat the fake follower epidemic head-on. This AI and machine-learning-powered platform has been a game changer in how we assess influencer authenticity.

The tool dives deeper than just surface-level engagement stats. It analyses over 40 metrics, including audience demographics, engagement quality, and content relevance. Most importantly, it detects red flags like suspicious spikes in followers, unusual engagement patterns, or fake accounts that could be inflating an influencer’s reach. What I love about it is that it doesn’t just give us a "yes or no" answer; it gives us detailed insights into why an influencer’s following is authentic and whether their audience is genuinely engaged.

For us, it’s more than just about avoiding fraud; it’s about ensuring that every campaign we run is built on a foundation of trust and authenticity. With The Tweeb Tool, we’ve seen up to an 80% improvement in campaign performance. Clients know that when they invest in an influencer, they’re getting the real deal genuine followers who care about the content.

A call for more transparency

While The Tweeb Tool has been a huge asset for us, there’s still much more work to be done across the industry. We need more transparency, stricter guidelines, and better tools to help brands and agencies make informed decisions about influencer partnerships. Platforms must hold influencers accountable and take stronger action against fraudulent activity.

For me, the heart of influencer marketing is authenticity. It’s about building genuine relationships between brands and audiences. When fake followers infiltrate that dynamic, it’s more than just a numbers game it’s a matter of trust. I’ve seen how quickly trust can be eroded when deception comes to light, and it’s my mission to ensure we’re part of the solution, not the problem.

The future of influencer marketing depends on us taking action now. By prioritizing authenticity, transparency, and accountability, we can preserve the true power of influencer marketing. And for brands, that means investing in influencers who are truly capable of making an impact, not just inflating their numbers.

This article is penned by Fauzan Abdul Rahim, Founder, SocialTweebs
Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.