Half of Bieber’s Twitter followers discovered ‘fake’

KARACHI: It has been revealed that nearly half of Justin Bieber’s Twitter followers comprise of fake or empty accounts, according to research by social media statistics company SocialBakers.

The startling revelation might just topple Bieber off the pinnacle of “King of Twitter.” Whereas previously it was believed that the teenage pop star had 37 million followers, the report claims 16.7 million have fake or empty accounts while 2.6 million of them are inactive.

Reportedly, accounts classified as fake or inactive were those used only for spam or those who had just one follower and followed less than 50 people themselves.

That sets the “Baby” singer back by 19.3 million, allowing Lady Gaga to retake the lead. The “Born This Way” star is said to have 15 million followers herself.

Other famous voices that were reported to have fake followers include Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Shakira, Rihanna and Katy Perry.