This week, Instagram launched an extensive sweep of fake, bot, and inactive accounts, resulting in a significant follower decrease for soccer's biggest icons. Cristiano Ronaldo saw his followers dwindle by over nine million, while Lionel Messi lost approximately 6.7 million in just two days, according to Social Blade's analytics data collected this week.
Coined the "Great Purge of 2026" by social media users, this operation primarily occurred on Wednesday, May 6, and continued into Friday.
On April 25, Ronaldo boasted 673,116,448 followers, but Wednesday marked his most substantial loss, with a single-day drop of 6,622,220 followers.
By Friday, he had lost an additional 2,621,324 followers, bringing his total to 664,073,783—a cumulative decrease of over 9.2 million during this period, as recorded by Social Blade.
Messi, who started with 512,579,531 followers on April 25, saw 4,807,296 followers vanish on Wednesday and another 1,903,755 on Friday, resulting in a new total of 505,844,007 followers.
Impact Beyond Soccer Stars
Despite these losses, both athletes maintain their positions on Instagram's global ranking, with Ronaldo as the second most-followed account and Messi as the third, trailing only the platform's official account.
This follower purge was not limited to these football legends. Instagram removed millions of followers from various celebrity accounts worldwide, with Kylie Jenner experiencing the most significant drop, losing between 14 and 15 million followers.
Instagram's own official account saw a reduction of nearly nine million followers during the clean-up.
Other prominent figures affected include BTS, Virat Kohli, Priyanka Chopra, Logan Paul, Ryan Reynolds, Donald Trump, Pope Francis, and Justin Bieber.
Influencer Losses in Cuba
Among Cuban influencers, Sandra Cires experienced the largest follower reduction, losing 55,278 followers. She was followed by Lisandra Silva (-21,844), Imaray Ulloa (-21,093), Pollito Tropical (-19,875), and La Mariposa (-13,055).
A Meta spokesperson described the action as "part of our routine process to remove inactive accounts," clarifying that "active followers remain unaffected, and any suspended account restored will be added back after verification."
The company utilizes artificial intelligence systems to identify suspicious profiles, fraudulent activity, and scam schemes, estimating that between 10% and 15% of its active accounts are fake or spam, according to its February 2026 Transparency Report.
In 2025, Instagram had already eliminated over 500 million fake accounts, aligning with a broader trend among major platforms to cleanse artificially inflated metrics.
Frequently Asked Questions About Instagram's Follower Purge
Why did Instagram remove millions of followers from accounts?
Instagram's purge aimed to eliminate fake, bot, and inactive accounts to maintain the integrity of the platform's metrics and user engagement. This routine process helps ensure that follower counts reflect genuine user interest.
How are accounts identified as fake or inactive?
Instagram employs artificial intelligence systems to detect suspicious profiles, fraudulent activities, and scams. These tools analyze various factors to identify accounts that do not comply with Instagram's policies.
Will affected accounts regain their followers?
If an account was mistakenly identified as inactive or fake, it could be restored after verification. Once reinstated, followers connected to the account will be added back.