Virat Kohli, Priyanka Chopra lose followers after Instagram's bot purge
What's the story
Instagram has reportedly deleted millions of fake and inactive accounts, leading to a significant drop in follower counts for several high-profile celebrities. The sudden decrease is part of parent company Meta Platforms's recent crackdown on spam accounts and inflated followings. Although Meta has not confirmed the purge, reports suggest that the platform is aggressively targeting inactive and "non-organic" accounts, including those associated with third-party follower services.
Celebrity impact
Celebrities affected by the removals
Several high-profile celebrities have reportedly been hit hard by this sudden drop in followers. Kylie Jenner is said to have lost over 14 million followers, while Cristiano Ronaldo's account dropped by nearly eight million. Selena Gomez also reportedly lost around six million followers. Indian celebrities such as Virat Kohli lost over two million followers, while Priyanka Chopra Jonas saw her follower count drop by more than a million. Other notable figures include Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber.
Twitter Post
See how many followers Kohli lost
🔴 Virat Kohli https://t.co/HwqEfWPMGc Instagram Follower Update
— Celebrity Radar (@CelebRadar0) May 6, 2026
Previous: 276,367,027 (lost) in the last 2.1d#Instagram#Followers#virat.kohli #Statspic.twitter.com/fjIxTOmMq5
Current : 274,283,312
Change : -2,083,715
User complaints
Accidental bans and restrictions on Threads
Simultaneously, users on Threads have complained of accidental bans and unexplained account restrictions. While many celebrities saw a significant drop in followers, several influencers and content creators reportedly experienced major losses as well. Some even allege that genuine accounts may have been mistakenly flagged during the crackdown.
Twitter Post
See how many followers Chopra Jonas lost
🔴 Priyanka Chopra https://t.co/ViipjKtfXE Instagram Follower Update
— Celebrity Radar (@CelebRadar0) May 6, 2026
Previous : 94,558,158
Current : 93,413,034
Change : -1,145,124 (lost) in the last 2.1d#Instagram#Followers#priyankachopra#Statspic.twitter.com/JCylo0JGmL
Account removal
Bot accounts removed during 6-hour window
According to online reports, millions of accounts were allegedly removed over a six-hour period, with smaller creators said to have lost between 2% and 5% of their followers. Celebrity accounts seem to have taken the biggest hits, with some losing one million while others crossing the 10 million mark due to the large volume of bot accounts attached to their profiles.