Twitter Cracks Down Fake Accounts

Oh,oh! For those who bragged about a large following on Twitter, the system is changing. Twitter announced that it would be shutting down fake accounts. Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer; others with larger follower counts will experience a more significant drop. Follower counts on Twitter is a visible feature, and Twitter wants everyone to have confidence that the numbers are meaningful and accurate.

The company also announce that they will be removing locked accounts from follower counts across profiles globally. Twitter reaches out to the owner of the account and unless they validate the account and reset the passwords, Twitter will keep them locked with no ability to log in.

This development has already affected celebrities who have lost a large number of followers. According to CNN, Katy Perry lost roughly 2.8 billion followers over night. Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Ellen DeGeneres and Lady Gaga also all lost about 2 million followers while reality star Kim Kardashian saw a dip of 1.7 million followers.