With over 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. Many people and businesses use Facebook to connect with friends, family, customers, and followers. However, not all followers on Facebook are real. Some accounts may be fake or bot accounts created to artificially inflate follower counts. So how can you tell if some of your Facebook followers are fake? Here are some tips to spot fake followers on Facebook:
Check number of friends
One of the easiest ways to spot a fake account is by looking at how many friends they have. Most fake accounts have very few friends, often less than 50. This is because they are usually automatically generated and don’t spend time adding real connections. On the other hand, authentic accounts tend to have hundreds of friends from real life connections and adding people they know online. If an account is following you but only has a handful of friends, they are likely fake.
Analyze post activity
Fake accounts rarely post original content. They tend to only share posts from other pages or randomly interact with posts through liking, commenting with spam phrases, or simply resharing posts. If you notice an account that follows you is constantly resharing content but never posting anything unique, it’s likely a fake account. Authentic accounts interact more naturally on Facebook with original thoughts and content.
Check profile information
Many fake accounts have incomplete profiles lacking basic personal information. Profile photos may be generic stock images instead of real profile pictures. The account may have no bio info or posts. Authentic profiles tend to be more detailed with some personal background and varied posting history. Be wary of followers with nearly empty profiles.
Look for unrelated comments
Bots and fake accounts often comment irrelevant phrases or links across Facebook randomly to appear engaged. The comments have nothing to do with the actual posts they are commenting on. If you see followers commenting strangely off-topic things on your posts, there’s a good chance they aren’t real people actually interested in your content.
Watch for coordinated liking/sharing
If you notice multiple new followers all liking, commenting, and sharing your posts in a coordinated manner within a short time, it may be a sign of fake accounts working together. Real human behavior tends to be more sporadic and organic. Fake accounts can act in suspicious unison when directed by a central source.
Check engagement rates
Compare the number of followers you have to the amount of likes and comments you get on posts. If your engagement rate is lower than expected, it could mean some of your followers aren’t real. For example, if you have 5,000 followers but your posts only get around 100 interactions, it indicates your engagement rate is low at around 2%. This can be a clue that some followers are inflating your counts without authentic interest.
How Fake Accounts Get Created
Now that we’ve covered how to spot fake followers, let’s discuss how these fake accounts are created in the first place and who is behind them.
Bots
Bots are automated programs designed to carry out simple and repetitive tasks. One common bot function is to automatically generate social media accounts. These bot-created accounts are not tied to real people and are often easy to spot. They tend to have nonsense usernames and follow/interact with posts randomly. Companies sell bot services to artificially boost follower counts.
Click farms
Click farms employ people to manually create accounts and carry out fake engagement. Workers sit behind computers all day following accounts, liking posts, and resharing content as directed. These fake accounts are harder to detect than bots but still exhibit unnatural behavior with high coordination. Click farms cater to those looking to inflate their social proof with fake followers.
| Type | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Bots | Automatically generated accounts, Nonsense usernames, Random bot-like activity |
| Click Farms | Manually created accounts, Some fake personal details, Coordinated activity |
Compromised accounts
Sometimes real accounts get compromised and end up behaving like fake accounts. This can happen if someone’s account gets hacked and used by bots. Other times users get tricked into handing over their login info or downloading malware that takes over their account. The account itself is real but starts posting spammy content out of the real user’s control.
Purchased inactive accounts
There are sites where old inactive social media accounts can be purchased in bulk. These are aged accounts that were opened years ago by real people but are now unused. Fake account providers buy up these abandoned accounts, add some fake details and photos, then use them as fake followers. These purchased accounts often have more friends and content than typical fake accounts.
Motivations Behind Fake Followers
Now that we know how fake followers are created, let’s explore why people buy and use them.
Vanity metrics
Some people just want the ego boost of having a high follower count and lots of post interactions. Even if the followers are fake, big numbers can create a perception of popularity and influence. For personal accounts, this feeds narcissism. For businesses, it’s misleading marketing.
Social proof
Higher follower counts are sometimes perceived as social proof of credibility. Fake followers provide false social validation. Consumers may trust someone with 100,000 followers over 10,000 followers, even if the larger following is artificial. Similarly, a business with 500,000 likes seems more credible than one with 5,000 likes.
Attention grabbing
More followers and engagement can lead to more visibility on Facebook. Posts from accounts with higher follower counts are more likely to gain real traction. Fake followers can be used as seed audience to attract real users through things like Facebook’s “suggested for you” posts.
Revenue generation
Influencers with more followers can charge more money from sponsors and make more from affiliate marketing. Fake followers inflate their appearance of value to companies paying for promotions. Each follower represents potential revenue.
Malicious scams
Fake accounts are sometimes used to run scams by directing users to malicious sites through posts and comments. They build a following through fake followers to get their deceptive links and content more visibility. More followers means more potential victims.
Political influence
Building follower counts gives accounts an appearance of consensus. Politicians and groups have used fake followers to sway opinion and create fake bandwagon effects making their viewpoint seem dominant. More followers lend authority that changes people’s thinking.
Negative Impacts of Fake Followers
Using fake followers may seem harmless on the surface but can cause a variety of problems:
Damages trust
When users realize someone has fake followers, it erodes trust in that account and makes them seem deceitful. Getting caught buying followers damages credibility. This goes for both personal accounts and brands.
Wastes money
Buyers end up paying money for worthless, fake engagement that provides no real value. The costs of fake followers from bot providers adds up over time. There are also lost opportunity costs where that money could have been used more effectively.
Hurts reach
Too many fake followers can actually reduce real reach and engagement. The Facebook algorithm detects fake activity and responds by showing your content to fewer real users. This means you can end up with a larger fake following but less authentic engagement.
| Negative Impact | Description |
|---|---|
| Damages Trust | Hurts credibility when fake following is exposed |
| Wastes Money | No value from money spent on fake engagement |
| Hurts Reach | Too many fakes leads to lower real engagement |
Creates a false sense of security
Fake numbers can create complacency and vulnerability. Someone may incorrectly believe their message is reaching more people than it truly is. Politicians can get caught off guard by lack of real support revealed in elections.
Devalues real followers
Widespread fake followers diminish the reputation and influence value of real followers. When fakes are mixed with real users, it’s harder to determine real interest and support levels.
Spreads misinformation
Scam accounts and politically motivated fake followers spread manipulated information designed to deceive real users. The more followers they have, the more their inaccurate content gets amplified.
Breaks community standards
Facebook has rules against using fake accounts or purchasing artificial engagement. Violating their guidelines risks account suspension or termination. Fake activity defrauds advertisers paying Facebook based on engagement rates.
How to Remove Fake Facebook Followers
If you want to clean up your account and get rid of any fake followers, here are some tips:
Check followers with analytic tools
Use free analytic tools like SocialRank or TwitterAudit to evaluate your Facebook followers. These tools give each follower a score to help identify potential fakes. Review low-scoring accounts as likely candidates for removal.
Manually review followers
Browse through your whole following list manually and scrutinize each account. Look for warning signs like low friend counts, no profile photo, or spammy posts. Take note of any suspect accounts.
Block questionable accounts
Once you identify likely fake followers, you can remove them by blocking each account. Go to the profile of the questionable account and select “Block”. This immediately deletes them from your followers.
Make your account private
Switching to a private account on Facebook removes all existing followers. When you make your account private, followers have to send a new request to follow you again. Only approve requests from people you know.
Report fake accounts
When reviewing followers, report obvious fake accounts to Facebook by selecting “report” and choosing “fake account” as the reason. This helps remove them from the platform.
Change your username
An extreme option is changing your Facebook username. This will automatically remove all current followers. Only users who know your new name will be able to find and refollow you.
Buy fake follower removal services
Some companies offer paid services to identify and remove fake Facebook followers in bulk on your behalf using automated tools and human vetting. This saves the manual work of purging fakes yourself.
Preventing Fake Followers Going Forward
Here are some tips to avoid getting fake followers again after removing them:
Make your account private
As mentioned above, private accounts require approval to follow you. This puts you in control of followers and blocks bots.
Be selective about approvals
Thoroughly vet any follow requests you receive. Check they have real account details and friends. Reject any suspicious requests.
Avoid buying followers
Commit to growing your account organically instead of taking shortcuts with bought followers. Stay away from any services selling Facebook likes and followers.
Limit giveaways/loopholes
Require participants to share thoughtful commentary or content to enter contests, not just follow you or like posts. Avoid follow loops with others solely to boost follower counts.
Proactively block bots
Actively search for and block bots yourself before they can follow you. Look for repeating patterns, nonsensical names, and lack of real content.
Report fake account services
If you come across a fake account provider, report them to Facebook for violating platform policies so they can’t create more fakes.
Set your account to public again
After cleaning your account, you can cautiously return to public to allow organic growth again. Monitor new followers closely and repeat the purge process if needed.
Conclusion
Having fake followers on Facebook undermines your credibility, wastes your money, and damages your real reach. But by watching for signs of inauthentic activity, removing suspicious accounts, and preventing further fakes, you can keep your following full of real engaged users and grow your account the right way. Consistently evaluating your list of followers and being diligent against fakes will pay off in the long run with higher quality engagement.