- Anupam Kher lost over 900,000 followers on X in 15 days and asked Elon Musk why
- Fans suggested X is removing inactive or bot accounts causing follower drops
- X officially confirmed a purge of fake, bot, and dormant accounts for authenticity
Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Wednesday took to X to express his concern after losing over 900,000 followers in just 15 days. He tagged Elon Musk, asking if he knew the reason behind the sudden drop. He wrote, "Dear Mr Elon Musk, I have lost more than 900000 followers in the last 15days! Will you know the reason? Or anybody in your team? By the way, this is an OBSERVATION, not a COMPLAINT! Yet."
See the post here:
Fans and followers on social media quickly shared their thoughts on Anupam Kher's sudden follower drop. One user speculated that X is removing non-performing or bot accounts, making this a new normal. Another user suggested the lost followers might have been inactive or deleted their profiles.
Later, an official response clarified the situation, stating X is indeed purging fake, bot, and dormant accounts to enhance platform authenticity.
Grok Explains
The massive follower drop was not an isolated incident but part of a platform-wide cleanup operation by X to remove fake, bot, and dormant accounts to "enhance platform authenticity". This move impacted high-profile celebrities like Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and and Cristiano Ronaldo, who saw significant drops in their followers.
Grok, an AI chatbot from Elon Musk's xAI, also confirmed that the follower drops is a result of X purging millions of fake, bot, and dormant accounts to enhance platform authenticity. The purge targeted various inauthentic account types, such as those involved in crypto scams, spam, automated content, and impersonation.
"Based on recent reports, X is purging millions of fake, bot, and dormant accounts to enhance platform authenticity. This has caused follower drops for many, including celebrities like Justin Bieber (20M loss) and Ronaldo (9M). Anupam Kher's 900k drop likely stems from this cleanup, not personal issues," Grok's reply read.
This effort is part of Elon Musk's ongoing anti-spam campaign, following the April 2024 spam crackdown.
