Fake influencers: Easy way to spot whether an instagram follower base is fake
It’s easy to be fooled online especially by bhose who buy likes and followers to artificially raise their profile. So, how do you spot a fake? Watch out for these signs.
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Whether it was dishwashing liquid or bras or fly spray, for generations of Australians purchasing choices were often prompted by a memorable marketing campaign. Eva Herzigova promised fuller breasts via a Wonderbra, Madge convinced us that Palmolive was the best dishwashing liquid for our hands, and if you wanted to get rid of pesky flies like Louis, then a can of Mortein was the go.
Whatever you chose to spend your money on, one thing was certain: there was a billboard or a TV advertisement or a radio jingle persuading you why a product was worth buying.
Now those messages are coming from a different source. Because just as online shopping has revolutionised how we buy, another force is shaping what we buy: influencers.
No longer the domain of teenage girls looking for a glamorous role model in the form of a Kardashian, post pandemic 85 per cent of Australians between the ages of 15 and 40 use social media and 73 per cent of those follow at least one influencer.
Far from being at the periphery of modern media, influencers through posts, reels and stories have been catapulted firmly into the mainstream.
Almost three out of four Gen Z and millennials follow one influencer and a third follow more than 15 influencers. What’s more they listen: followers admit they take on board what influencers are saying with two thirds reporting they’ve purchased something they recommended.
Whether its clothes, makeup, travel, fitness, food, health or household products, influencers are spruiking it. Yet whereas conventional advertising campaigns must meet legislated standards, it’s an unregulated wild west on social media where followers are susceptible to online tricksters and scammers.
So how do you know who’s genuine and who’s a fake, especially in the murky world of “bot” followers, follower farms and accounts set up to dupe people out of their money? Critically, how can you protect yourself from falling victim to those who fake their way online?
The groundbreaking Index of Influence, presented by The Oz (theoz.com.au), has lifted the lid not only on the most influential influencers in Australia but those with genuine and engaged audiences.
Who’s made the list and who hasn’t will surprise some but using state of the art methodology by The Behavioural Architects and research by the world’s leading social intelligence monitoring service Storyful both followers and brands can now see who really does have influence in this country.
Editor of The Oz, Elyse Popplewell, explains why News Corp Australia initiated the research.
“The Oz committed to this undertaking because social media creators with legitimate influence deserve to be distinguished from those just playing games,” she says.
“Building a community online is no easy feat and is a genuine career path.”
Pointing out that some on the index will be well known while others, particularly micro-influencers, will have more targeted audiences, Popplewell says the index has provided transparency for followers and metrics for marketers.
“It is incredibly refreshing to see so many young faces on the Index of Influence. These are people who have honed their craft by making people laugh, buy, look or think.”
Yet with more than 400,000 Australians declaring themselves influencers the potential is ever greater for unscrupulous operators. While an HBO documentary Fake Famous, which aired in 2021, highlighted just how easy it can be to game the social media economy, SBS series The Feed built a fake influencer account called @thatcoastalgirl and managed to trick an established social media marketing agency to include it on their books. The six-month investigation exposed a culture of hidden advertising with influencers, brands and agencies ignoring regulations and laws designed to protect consumers.
Elliot Lawry, from Meltwater, which discovers and vets influencers, says the public, generally, is not widely attuned to the issue of fake influencers. As he says: “If we look at it from a generational standpoint, we can make the assumption digital natives are largely pretty savvy towards it. Gen Z has a good nose for these things.”
While we’ve given tips on how to spot a fake influencer in the box (on the next page), The Oz’s research not only lists the Top 100 influencers but effectively highlights the most credible.
Sarah Magusara, who has 17 million followers on TikTok and 1.2 million followers on Instagram was humbled to learn she is the nation’s top influencer.
“It’s an honour to make the list and amazing to be recognised for the work that I do on social media,” says the 21-year-old mother of one who has become a social media superstar through her wildly popular dance videos and passion for fashion and make-up.
Not only has the Brisbane-based daughter of a receptionist and an electrician subverted the normal path to celebrity, she’s made teen motherhood look like a desirable lifestyle choice. As she says: “It’s gonna take time for me to believe it and to actually be confident about it, but I’m truly grateful. I see so many other creators who seem much more engaging to me, so I’m shocked I’m on the list at all.”
Others who appear on the list with huge followings on both TikTok and Instagram are Melbourne-based former teacher Caleb Finn and Gold Coast-based health and fitness enthusiast Kat Clark.
For public relations companies such as DEC PR, which has paired influencers such as Abbie Chatfield and Celeste Barber with brands, the Index of Influence is another reference for talent partnering.
CEO Michael Henderson says those who ignore digital content publishers – which include opinion leaders, celebrities or subject matter experts – and fail to activate their channels are missing a big mark.
“An index of this nature further legitimises and demonstrates how far this channel has come in a short period of time.”
With the index revealing that authenticity, trustworthiness, attractiveness – in terms of aspiration and likability – and relatability are among the top qualities audiences seek from influencers, Henderson concurred these were cornerstone attributes when working with digital creators. “Authenticity is number one – the alignment has to be natural and values need to be shared.”
With followers looking to influencers not only as people they aspire to be like but as those they would want in their own circle of friends, the index not only provides transparency to the public but, ironically, may incentivise influencers.
As Henderson says: “It has potential to inspire talent to do more and better. It’s a win for everyone.” ■
While media intelligence companies like Meltwater have checks and processes to spot fake influencers, and data which reveals suspicious accounts, social media followers can take steps to protect themselves.
■Fake influencers often purchase their likes and followers to help raise their engagement artificially, making them appear more influential.
■Go into their follower list and look for profiles without images as their display photo, those who’ve made no posts and those with private accounts. Accounts that contain lots of numbers can also mean they are bots that have been purchased.
■Check follower to engagement ratio. If an influencer has a lot of followers but low numbers of likes or comments, then they may not have a legitimate account.
■ Analyse engagement quality. Generic responses, including emojis, rather than specific comments which reference the post should also raise suspicions that influencers are participating in engagement pods to increase their engagement rate. “Nice”, “amazing” or “great pic” could come from bots.
■A sudden spike in follower count can reveal that an account has purchased followers rather than grown them organically.
■Influencers are required by law to declare when a post is sponsored by using relevant hashtags, for example #ad, #sponsored or #paidpartnership
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