According to recent data analysis by dappGambl, the issue of fake followers continues to persist on Crypto Twitter despite efforts made by Twitter management, including the introduction of Twitter Blue subscription. The research found that approximately 10% of the followers of crypto influencers and companies are fake.
Even after Elon Musk’s takeover and the implementation of Twitter Blue in April 2023 to combat fake accounts, dappGambl’s investigation reveals that popular crypto accounts still have a significant number of fake followers. Notably, Shiba Inu (SHIB) had the highest percentage of fake followers, accounting for 10.26% or 80,000 accounts. Avalanche (AVAX) and Polygon (MATIC) followed closely with 8.14% and 7.58% fake accounts, respectively.
Correlation Between Tokens and Fake Followers
The correlation between Twitter accounts and fake followers seems to depend on the popularity of specific tokens. By analyzing the social sentiment behind crypto accounts, dappGambl discovered that Dai (DAI) is the most loved coin on Twitter, while XRP (XRP) is the most disliked. DAI is often associated with being the “future of money,” while XRP tends to be linked to scams.
Influential Figures and Fake Followers
When it comes to influential figures in the crypto space, Samson Mow has the highest percentage of fake followers among his total following, with 10% represented by 26,000 fake accounts. Other notable individuals with significant numbers of fake followers include Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter (8.62%), Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, and Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, both having nearly 6.5% fake followers in their counts.
Identifying Fake Accounts
To address the issue, various methods can be employed to identify fake accounts, such as checking the account’s creation date, investigating the profile picture, bio, and tweets, as well as examining the followers and accounts followed by the suspicious account.
Recent Incident Involving a Twitter Bot
In a related incident, Elon Musk recently called out and suspended a Twitter bot named “Explain This Bob,” suspecting it to be a scam crypto account. The bot, created by Prabhu Biswal from India using OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, had been responding to tweets based on tags.
The prevalence of fake followers on Crypto Twitter raises concerns about the authenticity of engagements and the influence of social media in the cryptocurrency space. As the community works towards combating this issue, data analysis and increased vigilance can help identify and address fake accounts, enhancing the credibility of the platform.