Measurement
Spotting fake followers and influencer fraud in India
Image: Pixabay
Follower counts are the easiest metric to fake and the one brands still anchor on. A creator can look enormous and deliver almost nothing if the audience behind the number was bought.
Read engagement, not size
Genuine audiences comment in ways that make sense, save and share content, and grow steadily. Sudden follower spikes, generic comments and engagement far below the norm for a creator's size are the classic tells.
Ask for the real numbers
Insist on screen-recorded analytics: audience geography, age, reach-to-follower ratios and story completion. A serious creator shares them; a padded one stalls.
Judge by outcomes
The ultimate fraud check is a small paid test tied to a trackable action. Real audiences click, save and buy; purchased ones produce impressions and nothing else.
