Twitter followers disappear amid inquiries into fake accounts

If you are one of those who suddenly saw a drop in your followers section on Twitter, then you might want to read this news.

According to New York Times, more than a million followers have vanished from various accounts, belonging to dozens of prominent users, as the micro-blogging site faces growing scrutiny about fake accounts and the shadowy firms that peddle fake followers.

Entrepreneurs, athletes and celebrities are among those who have been heavily affected by this matter. Many of whom bought Twitter followers or artificial engagement from a company called Devumi.

On Saturday, Twitter vowed to take action against Devumi for their abuse of Twitter's platform but the company refused to respond when asked if they were behind the recent mass account deletion.

Some of the popular users affected by the mass account deletion include actor John Leguizamo, American Idol singer Clay Aiken, and British businesswoman and Twitter board member Martha Lane Fox.

Twitter did not comment on whether it is purging fake accounts from the platform.

However, the company said in a a tweet Saturday that "the tactics used by Devumi on our platform and others as described by today's NYT article violate our policies and are unnacceptable to us. We are working to stop them and any companies like them."

The company's campaign against bots comes as federal lawmakers and law enforcement officials in two states are scrutinizing Devumi, where numerous websites sell fake followers or engagement on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms.

It has affected celebrities in India too, as megastar Amitabh Bachchan has threatened to quit Twitter as he accused the organisation of reducing the number of his followers.

The actor wrote on Twitter, "T 2599 - TWITTER!!!?? You reduced my number of followers!!??HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! thats a joke time to get off from you. thank you for the ride. there are many 'other' fish in the sea - and a lot more exciting !!"

With 3,29,41,837 followers, superstar Shah Rukh Khan is now the industry's most followed personality on the micro-blogging site. The Pink star, on the other hand, has 3,29,02,320 million followers.

The 74-year-old is extremely active on social media platforms and uses the medium to share updates about his personal and professional lives with his fans and well-wishers.