As Instagram's "Great Purge of 2026" left countless influencers losing thousands of followers, several Cuban content creators achieved the unexpected: they ended the day with more followers than before.
This Thursday, Meta conducted a sweeping removal of bots and inactive accounts on Instagram, shaking up follower counts globally for about six hours.
The impact was worldwide: Kylie Jenner lost over 14 million followers, Cristiano Ronaldo saw 6,622,220 disappear, and even Instagram's official account was left with nearly nine million fewer followers.
A Meta spokesperson described the event as "part of our routine process to remove inactive accounts," clarifying that "active followers remain unaffected."
Surprising Growth Amidst the Purge
Among the most followed Cuban influencers on Instagram, data from SocialBlade showed a varied landscape with clear winners and losers.
Amanda Camaraza emerged as the unexpected frontrunner, gaining +6,496 followers during the cleanup, the best result among the Cuban group analyzed.
She was followed by Claudia Artiles with +3,749, Rachel Arderi with +3,680, La Dura (Diliamne Jouve González) with +3,442, and Samantha Hernández with +2,919.
Growing an account during a purge of fake accounts is a noteworthy sign: it indicates that the new followers are real and active users, pointing to an organic and engaged audience.
Amanda Camaraza had reached the one million follower milestone in June 2025, an achievement she celebrated with an emotional video, and her growth during the purge reinforces her image of having a genuinely loyal fan base.
The Other Side of the Spectrum
The contrast with those most affected is striking.
Sandra Cires Art topped the losses with -55,278 followers, more than double that of the second most affected.
Behind her were Imaray Ulloa with -21,093 and Pollito Tropical with -19,875, numbers that caused a stir on social media, although not necessarily indicating any wrongdoing.
Meta estimates that between 10% and 15% of its active accounts are fake or spam, and by 2025, it had already removed more than 500 million fake profiles according to its own Transparency Report.
Any profile with followers accumulated over the years could be automatically affected, regardless of their behavior on the platform.
This phenomenon is not exclusive to Instagram: major platforms have been cleaning up inflated metrics for some time under pressure from advertisers and regulators demanding more transparent audience data.
X (formerly Twitter) carried out its own cleanup just a month earlier, suspending 208 bot accounts per minute.
What the purge made clear is that the on-screen follower count is becoming increasingly less important: what brands and algorithms value today is real engagement, and in this area, the Cuban influencers who grew have just demonstrated they possess something many large numbers can't buy.
Understanding Instagram's 2026 Purge
What was the purpose of Instagram's "Great Purge of 2026"?
The "Great Purge of 2026" aimed to remove bots and inactive accounts from Instagram to ensure more accurate follower counts and improve the quality of engagement metrics.
How did Cuban influencers benefit from the purge?
Several Cuban influencers gained followers during the purge, indicating their audiences are organic and engaged, which strengthens their credibility and appeal to brands.
Why are follower counts becoming less important?
Follower counts are less important because brands and algorithms now prioritize genuine engagement over sheer numbers, valuing interactions that indicate a real, active audience.