EYECARE: Optometry Spotting a Fake By Staff Monday, March 12, 2018 12:29 AM RELATED CONTENT Social Influencers Anatomy of an Influencer Spotting a Fake As everything seems to be with the internet, there are always dark corners of the digital world—and the phenomena of influencers isn’t immune to it. While accounts might boast thousands, hundreds of thousands and even millions of followers, not all of them are legitimate. With personalities seeking validation through the number of followers they can claim, the rise of buying fake “bot” accounts to boost numbers has become a very real controversy for social media platforms. Known as the black market of social media, the New York Times recently published an investigative feature titled, “The Follower Factory,” which chronicled the occurrence of influencer accounts purchasing fake followers.