Meta’s AI purge removes millions of fake Instagram followers

Meta removed millions of fake Instagram followers from high-profile accounts after a May 5 policy update that expanded automated detection across Facebook and Instagram. Affected accounts include Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift, BLACKPINK and other top celebrities.

The company deployed an AI moderation model designed to detect inauthentic engagement and inactive accounts. The system uses signals from bios, account behavior and image context and applies patterns to identify likely impersonators and bot networks.

Several public figures saw large drops in follower totals. Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Virat Kohli and Priyanka Chopra were among those affected. Nigerian singer Davido lost more than 2 million followers during the purge.

Meta described the removals as part of routine account maintenance and wrote in a statement that “Active followers remain unaffected.” The company also said its systems aim to reduce impersonation and scam behavior.

The company has been working to limit coordinated inauthentic behavior and scam operations for several years. In 2025 Meta removed 10.9 million accounts tied to scam centers and took down 159 million scam ads, reporting that 92% of those ads were removed before any user reported them.

Researchers and platform observers have tracked bot farms that inflate reach on large profiles and spread crypto promotions, fake giveaways and sneaker scams by impersonating public figures. The new detection model looks for recurring patterns of engagement such as identical messages, coordinated posting times and suspicious account metadata.

Meta has also introduced blockchain-linked creator features. The company recently began offering stablecoin payouts in USDC to creators in Colombia and the Philippines.

Users and public figures who saw follower drops were told that authentic followers remain unaffected and that routine maintenance can alter counts while inactive and inauthentic accounts are removed.