Recently released research indicates that over two-thirds of the more than a quarter-billion Twitter accounts following the biggest stars may be fake.
Pop singers such as Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna may have millions of fans, but the ones on Twitter are mostly bots, reports IBTimes.
The study was commissioned by Music Business Worldwide, and conducted by Twitter Audit. Twitter analytical tool Bot or Not creator Emilio Ferrera said that fake accounts provide little value to the account in question.
"They don't provide any immediate economic return," he insisted. "Only a boost of the musicians' egos."
Of the musicians studied, pop star Taylor Swift had the biggest bot problem. Twitter audit found that 67 per cent of her 41.6 million followers are fake accounts. Katy Perry came in a close second with 65 per cent of her 64.2 million followers being bots, and 62 per cent of Rihanna's 41 million followers are bots.
Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga had fewer fakes, with 58 per cent of 59.9 million followers and 55 per cent of 43.9 million followers respectively, according to the study.
Ferrara explained why so many bots are drawn to the singers.
"Social bots are often designed to follow and target high-profile accounts," he explained, adding that retweeting a celebrity's account can boost one's following. There is also the possibility that the stars, or their management, want a large following by any means necessary.
"Many social bots are sold as fake followers," Ferrara said. "A large fraction of these have actually been bought to boost the popularity of that user."
While the music stars have large followings across all social media platforms, their celebrity is most apparent on Twitter, where seven of the top ten biggest accounts are held by music artists. Only President Barack Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, and YouTube have a comparable amount of followers.
