Taylor Swift, Kardashians and Neymar among celebs with most fake followers, finds new study

A new study by the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) found that many Hollywood A-listers and sports stars also have high numbers of fake followers across their social media channels.

The ICMP ran the Instagram and Twitter handles of celebrities through software to determine how many of their followers were fake.

Leading the charge is Germany and Real Madrid footballer Toni Kroos (51 per cent fake followers), Ellen DeGeneres (49 per cent) and Isco (49 per cent).

Meanwhile Taylor Swift (46 per cent), Katy Perry (44 per cent) and the Kardashian sisters Kourtney (46 per cent) and Khloe (43 per cent) also polled high (see lists below).

Several football stars fared no better. Following Kroos is Isco (49 per cent), Luka Modric (49 per cent) and Philippe Countinho (48 per cent).

These findings are consistent with other recent studies. Another study by Takumi found Love Island stars had even higher numbers of fake followers, with 65 per cent of followers of Amber Rose Gill marked as fake.

Another study by Swedish e-commerce start-up A Good Company and analytics firm HypeAuditor – which assessed 1.84 million Instagram accounts across 82 countries – concluded that the majority of ‘influencers’ on Instagram engaged is some form of fakery, artificially boosting followers, likes and comments and/or using bots.

Lynne Franks, one of the most influential PR and fashion industry pioneers, told PRWeek influencer marketing has "gotten out of control" and it was too easy for "any little girl sitting in a bedroom" to buy fake audiences on social media.

10 celebs with the highest percentage of fake followers

1. Ellen DeGeneres - 49%

2. BTS - 47%

3. Kourtney Kardashian - 46%

4. Taylor Swift - 46%

5. Ariana Grande - 46%

6. Deepika Padukone - 45%

7. Miley Cyrus - 45%

8. Katy Perry - 44%

9. Khloe Kardashian - 43%

10. Priyanka Chopra - 43%

10 sports stars with the highest percentage of fake followers

1. Toni Kroos - 51%

2. Isco - 49%

3. Luka Modric - 49%

4. Philippe Coutinho - 48%

5. David Luiz - 46%

6. Neymar - 46%

7. Andres Iniesta - 46%

8. Kylian Mbappe - 45%

9. Ronaldo de Assis Moreira - 45%

10. Virat Kohli - 44%

See more: The IMCP’s full list of celebrities and sports stars with fake followers