Social Media Platforms Remove Billions of Fake Accounts Annually to Combat Scams

Social media users navigate an increasingly deceptive digital landscape as major platforms struggle to combat a rising tide of fake accounts and spam content. New research from Surfshark reveals the staggering scale of this problem: Facebook alone removes 4.5 billion fake accounts annually—a figure that exceeds its entire active user base of 3 billion by 1.5 times.

The prevalence of fake accounts has created a significant challenge for platform integrity teams. TikTok removes approximately 1 billion fake accounts each year, while X (formerly Twitter) eliminates 671 million accounts annually for platform manipulation and spam—surpassing its 570 million active user count. LinkedIn also faces substantial challenges, removing 112 million fake accounts yearly, representing more than a third of its 310 million active user base.

“The scenario of communicating with fake users and interacting with scam content on social media has become a daily reality,” noted researchers at Surfshark, who compiled the data from official transparency reports published by the platforms.

YouTube’s content moderation efforts are equally substantial. The video platform terminates an average of 25 million spam channels annually, which results in the removal of 311 million spam-related videos. This represents approximately 40% of YouTube’s estimated active channel base each year.

The battle extends beyond fake accounts to the content they generate. Facebook leads in content removals, purging an average of 4.7 billion pieces of spam annually. YouTube removes 3.6 billion spam-related comments from videos each year, while TikTok deletes an average of 1.4 billion comments and 671 million videos attributed to fake accounts. Instagram and LinkedIn remove 271 million and 200 million instances of spam content annually, respectively.

The underground economy supporting these fake accounts presents another troubling dimension. In dark web marketplaces, fake social media accounts can be purchased for as little as $0.08, with prices varying based on the account’s age, follower count, country of origin, and platform.

“The business model typically works in two steps,” explained Surfshark researchers. “First, hackers acquire as many fake accounts as they can, either by creating them or purchasing them in bulk. Once enough accounts are gathered, they begin using them for their own ends or selling services to promote questionable products, increase engagement, or push political agendas.”

These operations directly violate platform terms of service and represent a significant threat to legitimate users. The sheer volume of fake accounts makes it increasingly difficult for average users to distinguish between authentic and fraudulent interactions, raising the risk of scams and misinformation exposure.

The research methodology collected data from transparency reports published by Meta, Google, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn, with data collection beginning in 2021—the earliest year for which comparable data was available across platforms. For platforms reporting quarterly versus semi-annually, researchers calculated average annual figures to enable meaningful comparisons.

As social media companies continue investing heavily in detection and removal systems, the scale of the problem highlights the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between platforms and those creating fake accounts. For users, the research underscores the importance of maintaining skepticism about online interactions and verifying information sources before taking action based on social media content.