Canadian Celebrities with the Highest Number of Fake Instagram Followers
Olivia Cole 
With more than 1.3 billion active account holders, Instagram is the world’s fourth most-used social platform. As it focuses solely on an unrivalled visual experience, many consider its content more engaging than that found on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. A good example is Canada, where the photo- and video-sharing social network ranks second in popularity, with 14.9% of respondents in a Statista survey.
Due to its impressive market penetration, Instagram is a top choice for building a brand or staying in touch with your fan base. Canadian celebrities use the platform to promote themselves, sell their merchandise and share their thoughts with their audiences. Such an online presence can yield incredible results, so it is no surprise that both rising stars and well-known celebrities do their utmost to reap the benefits Instagram offers.
The number of followers a celebrity has is directly related to the perceived influence of their persona. Unfortunately, fake online followings are common, so numbers should never be taken at face value. CasinoGuardian decided to delve deeper into the matter and scrutinised the Instagram accounts of the top 15 Canadian celebrities. The percentage of fake followers ranged from 14.4% (Brooke Lynn Hytes) to 30.9% (Carly Rae Jepsen).
Methodology
However, these are only warning signs and, when reviewing celebrities’ posts, it is easy to miss fake follower engagement. That is why our team backed up its research with Modash, a trusted online Instagram fake follower checker tool. Only celebrities with at least 1 million followers were ranked, with information about average likes; engagement rates are also provided. These data are current as of March 2023.
15 Canadian Celebrities Ranked by Fake Followers Percentage
When we compiled our selection, it turned out that the majority of the ranked celebrities come from the music industry. This is understandable, given that they have more communication channels at their disposal than most other entertainers. A few notable exceptions are Shay Mitchell, Ryan Reynolds, Cobie Smulders, Winnie Harlow, Alphonso Davies and Brooke Lynn Hytes.
Carly Rae Jepsen – 2.5 Million Followers (30.9% Fake)
Carly Rae Jepsen is one of many artists who rose to fame thanks to a reality music show. Her road to success began in 2007 when she came third in the fifth season of Canadian Idol, but it took her four years to achieve a full breakthrough. She released the single Call Me Maybe in 2011, and it reached No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100 and charts all over the world.
Jepsen’s Instagram account is followed by 2.5 million fans. Of these, 30.9% are considered fake, the highest percentage in our ranking.
Shay Mitchell – 35.8 Million Followers (27.84% Fake)
Shannon Ashley Garcia, better known as Shay Mitchell, comes next in our selection of Canadian celebrities with the highest number of Instagram followers. Apart from her acting and modelling career, Mitchell is recognised as a passionate anti-racism activist. One of the organisations she works with is WE Charity, which develops educational resources.
What is striking here is not so much the percentage of fake followers (27.84% of 35.8 million) as the markedly low engagement rate of just 0.39%. While the two indicators are inevitably related, a score below half a per cent is highly unusual.
Justin Bieber – 282.6 Million Followers (26.75% Fake)
The Canadian celebrity with the largest Instagram fan base on our list is Justin Bieber – 282.6 million followers. This exceeds the combined totals of every other celebrity on our list except The Weeknd. With such an immense number of account holders, 26.75% of whom are assessed as fake, an engagement rate of 1.36% is an excellent score. Much can be said about the reasons for Bieber’s success, but we will mention just two – exceptional talent and openness with the public.
Drake – 133.3 Million Followers (26.46% Fake)
Fourth in the ranking, with 26.46% fake followers out of 133 million, is the world-famous rapper Drake. He is one of the most acclaimed artists in the selection, with five Grammy Awards and 34 Billboard Music Awards (an all-time record).
The Weeknd – 133.3 Million Followers (26.14% Fake)
As a teenager, The Weeknd left school and started using hard drugs. However, he overcame his problems and transformed his difficult past into beautiful art. Today he owns a record label called XO, has more than 133 million Instagram followers (26.14% fake), and his After Hours Til Dawn World Tour is scheduled to begin in three months, on 10 June 2023.
Avril Lavigne – 12.2 Million Followers (25.26% Fake)
Let Go, Avril Lavigne’s debut album released in 2002, is still the best-selling album by a Canadian artist in the twenty-first century. Twenty-one years later, she has a tour coming up, with most dates already sold out. Some 25.26% of her 12.2 million Instagram followers are considered fake, and the current engagement rate is 2.57%.
Winnie Harlow – 10.2 Million Followers (24.63% Fake)
Winnie Harlow is not only one of the contestants from the America’s Next Top Model TV series, but also an ardent supporter of alternative beauty in the fashion industry. She inspires millions of people diagnosed with vitiligo, a skin disorder that affects between 0.5% and 1% of the population worldwide. Harlow currently has 10.2 million Instagram followers, 24.63% of whom are fake.
Celine Dion – 5.6 Million Followers (22.94% Fake)
From winning Eurovision in 1988 to spending 16 years in Las Vegas, where she performed in over 1,100 concerts, Celine Dion is undoubtedly one of the most successful Canadian singers of all time. Who can forget her signature song from the film Titanic, My Heart Will Go On, released in 1997; it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 20 weeks.
Although she is no longer performing owing to stiff person syndrome, she is adored by millions of fans around the world. As regards Instagram, Celine Dion enjoys a following of 5.6 million, 22.94% of which is considered fake.
Shania Twain – 2.1M Followers (22.73% Fake)
With a similar fake-follower percentage (22.73%), Shania Twain comes next in our selection. The best-selling female artist in country music history has won five Grammy Awards, 39 BMI Songwriter Awards and two World Music Awards, and she has received stars on both Canada’s Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Shawn Mendes – 71.7 Million Followers (22.56% Fake)
Shawn Mendes, who works in both the music and fashion industries, is one of the best-known Canadian celebrities, particularly among the younger generation. His recent photoshoot featuring Tommy Hilfiger’s latest collection has probably added more accounts to his Instagram fan base, which now stands at 71.7 million. Our study shows that 22.56% are fake, which still gives Mendes more than 55.5 million genuine followers.
Cobie Smulders – 2.1 Million Followers (22.44% Fake)
Jacoba Francisca Maria Smulders, or simply Cobie Smulders, is widely known for her roles as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and Agent Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With 22.44% fake followers out of 2.1 million accounts, she ranks 11th in our selection.
Michael Bublé – 3.3 Million Followers (20.42% Fake)
We are back on the music scene with Michael Bublé, the singer who has melted thousands of hearts with his beautiful voice. He is also an avid hockey fan, and when he was invited to join the ownership group of the Vancouver Giants in 2008, Bublé was happy to accept. The artist enjoys an Instagram following of 3.3 million, of which 20.42% is considered fake.
Alphonso Davies – 5.2 Million Followers (18.34% Fake)
This professional footballer is the only athlete in our ranking of Canadian celebrities with the highest number of fake Instagram followers. With an engagement rate of 3.63%, Alphonso Davies takes second place in this respect, behind only The Weeknd (5.06%). As for the fake-follower percentage, it stands at 18.34% of 5.2 million Instagram accounts.
Ryan Reynolds – 48.2 Million Followers (17.45% Fake)
Ryan Reynolds ranks fifth in terms of total Instagram following (48.2 million) and 14th for fake-follower percentage (17.45%). He excels not only as an actor but also as an entrepreneur. Earlier this month, the BBC announced that a large US telecommunications company had offered to buy the small mobile virtual network co-owned by Reynolds. The deal is expected to add more than $300 million to his bankroll.
Brooke Lynn Hytes – 1.2 Million Followers (14.4% Fake)
With 1.2 million Instagram followers, 14.4% of whom are considered fake, Brooke Lynn Hytes ranks 15th in our selection. Hytes is the first contestant from the series Canada’s Drag Race to become a full-time judge on the reality competition.
Conclusion
Having fake or suspicious Instagram followers does not always imply that a celebrity is paying to appear more influential. Success and envy are inevitably related, and many popular figures are targeted by bots in an attempt to harm their reputations. Our study merely proves that you should not take numbers for granted and that the follower count does not fully reflect a person’s popularity. While a misinterpretation may not be important to fans, for brands looking for a celebrity partner it could mean the difference between campaign success and failure.