10 Celebrities That Have Bought Twitter Followers

Social media experts recently shed some light on the latest multi-million dollar market to take the world by storm – fake Twitter followers. There are hundreds of websites that trade fake followers and fake retweets from more than 20 million fake Twitter accounts for a small price. According to social media management companies like Status People Fake Follower Check and SocialBakers, a number of high-profile celebrities are buying fake Twitter followers. Whether it is to feed their ego or increase the visibility of their brand, it was discovered that most celebrity profiles had at least 50 percent of their followers show up as fake or inactive. Read on to find out who the top 10 celebrity offenders for buying fake Twitter followers.

1. Katy Perry

Although the pop-star diva ranks as having one of the most popular celebrity Twitter accounts with 34.9 million total followers, it seems that she has the highest number of imaginary friends. According to the Prague-based analytics firm SocialBakers, 49 percent of Katy Perry’s Twitter followers are fake, which translates to an astounding 17,140,029 fake scam accounts. An additional 29 percent are inactive accounts, so an estimated 27,284,129 total followers are fake or inactive for. Therefore, only 22 percent remains as real human fan followers who are interacting with the “Fireworks” superstar’s tweets.

2. Lady Gaga

With more than 36.1 million followers, the eccentric and wild pop-star Lady Gaga takes the top spot for the most Twitter followers of all celebrities. But, how many of these are fake followers that have been bought by the multi-millionaire? Social media expert sites have found that 47 percent of Gaga’s fans, or 16,986,518, are actually bogus. On top of that, 31 percent are inactive dummy accounts. As a result, 28,190,391 of the “Poker Face” singer are either fake or inactive. Of course, this still leaves Lady Gaga with 19 million real followers, but it definitely takes her profile down a notch from the most popular.

3. Barack Obama

Being in his second-term as the President of the United States, it is no surprise that Barack Obama has more than 29.8 million followers on his Twitter page, perhaps looking for some inside secrets from the White House. However, it seems that a large percentage of these followers are actually counterfeit. In fact, Barack Obama has 14,908,716 fake followers, half of his total follower count. Another 29 percent are inactive, meaning Mr. President has 23,555,770 total fake and inactive followers. During his campaign, Obama’s representatives vehemently denied buying Twitter followers, but the data suggests otherwise.

4. Taylor Swift

It may be hard to refute the fact that the country sweetheart superstar Taylor Swift has many Twitter fans that follow her to learn all the latest gossip on her juicy love life. However, the Fake Follower Check results indicate that a jaw-dropping 53 percent of Swift’s Twitter followers are actually fake. Of her 26.2 million followers, 13,912,370 are bogus accounts that only follow celebrities looking for more followers. In addition, 28 percent are inactive, bringing the grand total of imaginary friends to 21,262,301.

5. Britney Spears

On Britney Spears’ Twitter profile, she may have more than 25.6 million fans listed following her tweets to learn more about the once upon a time pop superstar and the X Factor judge. Yet, the pop diva has been the source of some controversy for buying Twitter followers, which has led to nearly 47 percent of her follower count being fake. While 11,814,613 are fake, an additional 32 percent are inactive to make the grand total of 20,033,474 fake and inactive followers. Even if you are not a mathematician, you can tell that this only leaves Britney Spears 22 percent of actual “good” followers.

6. Rihanna

On Twitter’s Most-Followed list, Rihanna is included within the top five with her 29.4 million followers. On the other hand, Fake Follower Check results demonstrate that 11,681,768 of these followers are actually fake bought Twitter accounts. With 40 percent being fake and another 26 percent being inactive, 19,274,917 followers are either fake or inactive on her profile. This leaves only 13.1 million real Twitter followers for the Barbados-born R&B singer.

7. Justin Bieber

Not to enrage all of the real Beliebers out there, but it appears that Canadian pop-star Justin Bieber has been up to no good buying Twitter followers. Although Bieber’s Twitter page lists a whopping 37.5 million followers, 27 percent are fake accounts and another 31 percent are inactive. This means that Bieber has 10,133,221 fake followers, or 21,767,659 total fake and inactive accounts. Although Justin Bieber was still found to have 17.8 million real followers, these recent findings suggest that the “As Long As You Love Me” singer just might not be as popular as we all thought.

8. Diddy

While the official Diddy Twitter account boasts more than 9.1 million followers, it has been found that nearly 65 percent of the followers are fake and another 15 percent are inactive. Social media expert researchers noticed an odd occurrence last June where Diddy gained 185,399 followers in just one day! Even more suspiciously, the rapper lost 393,665 followers in a single day in August this year. The inexplicable drop by 6,504 percent more than his average daily loss indicates that Twitter may have caught on to Diddy’s buying fake followers. While the representatives for Mr. Combs failed to comment on the scandal, it is pretty obvious what happened by the facts alone.

9. Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake is known for being a jack of all trades as a singer, dancer, actor, and Twitter enthusiast with more than 18.8 million followers. According to SocialBakers, he may not be as popular on Twitter as is falsely advertised. Almost half of Timberlake’s followers, 9,437,292 to be exact, are completely bogus. Another hefty 30 percent are inactive, bringing the grand total of fake and inactive followers to 15.099,667. Justin Timberlake may have brought “Sexy Back,” but only 20 percent of his followers are actually legitimate.

10. Shakira

Rounding out the top ten for the worst offenders for buying Twitter followers is the Latin beauty known for having hips that do not lie. Her Twitter follower count of 20.3 million followers does lie though. Over 43 percent of Shakira’s followers, or 8,766,265, are phony. With an additional 31 percent inactive, the total fake and inactive followers on the Voice judge’s Twitter page is 15,086,130. However, fans should not be too enraged, considering she still holds a top spot for having 26 percent real followers.