Sizwe Dhlomo is always up for a good ol’ fashion Twar. This time his victim is rapper iFani – and he wasn’t shy to bring out the files.
Yesterday the former MTV Base VJ tweeted that iFani has “fake followers” then he followed it up with a screenshot of the Ewe rapper’s followers and pointed out that they’re all “bots” – not real people.
Hawu & now? IFani with all the fake followers? Did his account get hacked or what?
— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) November 9, 2017
Tweeps gladly verified the claims, with one user actually checking iFani’s username on an online Twitter follower’s audit.
— The Instigator (@AmBlujay) November 9, 2017
They even tried to throw rapper AKA into the mix.
— The Instigator (@AmBlujay) November 9, 2017
Other users were just as confused as to what “fake followers” are.
I'm still trying to figure out what are fake followers... could someone share some light?
— Mr. Tebogo (@Tabzonline) November 9, 2017
Nginawe bru, I'll wait here too pic.twitter.com/2oERZr5XuW
— umZulu wakwaZulu (@Rico_Shade) November 9, 2017
Fake followers pic.twitter.com/T09XDoQdGS
— Chair Person (@Mogami4reitu) November 9, 2017
According to Meltwater, “fake followers” are followers who are bought from “vendors”.
These vendors create fake accounts that they sell to clients to make their clients seem “more popular” than they actually are.
How do you know if followers are fake?
If a celebrity or social media influencer’s followers don’t have any profile pictures or posts, it’s right to assume they’re actually fake, according to Pixlee.
The followers will usually have profile pictures of half-naked women, their usernames will be gibberish and they’ll usually comment nonsensical things on the influencer’s profile.
