Major Stars Priyanka Chopra, Kylie Jenner, and Cristiano Ronaldo Lose Millions of Followers After Instagram Purge

Avatar photoRobert Milaković
Kylie Jenner 1
Share:

On May 6, celebrities and influencers were taken aback by a startling revelation. Their meticulously built Instagram follower counts, which took years to amass, suddenly appeared significantly lower.

Some accounts experienced losses in the hundreds of thousands, while others saw millions vanish almost instantly. This widespread occurrence was quickly dubbed the “Great Purge of 2026,” igniting fervent debates on social media regarding the actual size of celebrity audiences and the extent of inauthentic engagement on the platform.

The magnitude of the follower drop was unprecedented. Instagram’s parent company, Meta, initiated a significant crackdown on fake, inactive, and bot accounts across the platform.

While the impact varied widely, some of the most-followed figures faced staggering declines.

Kylie Jenner was among those most affected, losing over 14 million followers, while Cristiano Ronaldo had 6,622,220 followers removed. This cascading effect reached beyond individual stars, impacting entertainment groups, athletes, and influencers worldwide.

Priyanka Chopra reportedly lost around 4 million followers, while Virat Kohli’s loss varies by source, with Pulse estimating about 5 million and Times of India citing nearly 2 million. K-pop groups like BTS and BLACKPINK also faced significant follower losses, with BLACKPINK’s official account losing about 10 million and BTS’s losing around 7 million.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed that this action is part of their routine procedures, stating, “As part of our regular process to remove inactive accounts, some Instagram users may notice updates in their follower counts. Active followers remain unaffected, and any suspended account that is reinstated will be added back to the follower count upon verification.”

The company framed the cleanup as a vital step to enhance platform authenticity and reduce inflated engagement metrics that had built up over time. This initiative is part of a broader Meta strategy that introduced AI tools aimed at combating impersonation, scam ads, and coordinated inauthentic behavior on its platforms.

The purge has raised crucial questions about how these enormous follower counts were amassed in the first place and the extent to which celebrity engagement was genuinely coming from real users. How do you think this cleanup will influence our perception of influence and success on social media platforms like Instagram?

Share: