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Meta's popular social media platform, Instagram, has launched a massive "cleanup drive" in 2026. As part of this initiative, the company has removed millions of bot and inactive accounts from its platform. This move has resulted in a sudden and drastic decline in follower counts for numerous celebrities, influencers, and major brands.

**Key Highlights of the Action**
Taking a significant step to curb fake engagement and artificial popularity on the platform, Instagram has deleted millions of bot accounts. This action has had a direct impact on major celebrities across the globe. Famous influencer Kylie Jenner bore the brunt of this move, losing approximately 14 million followers overnight. Surprisingly, even Instagram's own official account was not spared from this purge, recording a massive drop of nearly 9 million followers.

**Setback for Many Creators, Including Kylie Jenner**
According to reports, this "account cleanup" has impacted several high-profile users, including American reality TV star and social media influencer Kylie Jenner. Kylie Jenner's follower count witnessed a substantial decline of up to 14 million. Beyond Kylie, numerous other renowned creators and public figures worldwide have also faced a sudden reduction in their follower counts overnight.

**Why Did Instagram Take This Step?**
Instagram periodically conducts such cleanup drives to promote genuine users on its platform. Essentially, automated bot profiles are often utilized to artificially inflate likes, followers, comments, and engagement on social media. This action was undertaken specifically to purge these fraudulent accounts.

**What Did Meta Say?**
Clarifying the matter, a Meta spokesperson stated that this constitutes a standard and routine procedure for the company. They clarified that this has not impacted the genuine and active users utilizing the platform.

A spokesperson stated, "Due to our routine process of removing inactive accounts, some users may observe changes in their follower counts. This has had no impact on active followers. Furthermore, if a suspended account is subsequently restored following verification, it will once again be included in the follower count."

**Dubbed 'The Great Purge of 2026' on Social Media**
This mass deletion of millions of accounts has caused a massive stir across social media platforms. Users are dubbing the event "The Great Purge of 2026." People are widely sharing screenshots showcasing their diminished follower counts and engagement metrics.

On the microblogging platform X, one user humorously noted that even Instagram's own official account did not escape this cleanup drive. The user wrote, "During this cleanup drive, Instagram's official account itself lost over 9 million followers. No one was safe."

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.