Amitabh Bachchan suffers drop in followers, is angry with Twitter
What's the story
Amitabh Bachchan is no longer the most followed Indian movie star on Twitter. Of course, he is angry. So much so that he has threatened to leave the micro-blogging site. The megastar has reportedly lost about 60,000 followers. With his 32.9 million strong follower base, he is now second to Shah Rukh Khan, who has 33 million followers. Here's more.
Twitter Post
When Big B threatened Twitter
T 2599 - TWITTER ..!!!?? you reduced my number of followers .. !!??HAHAHAHAHAHAHA .. !! thats a joke .. time to get off from you .. thank you for the ride .. 😠😠😠 .. there are many 'other' fish in the sea - and a lot more exciting !! pic.twitter.com/85c15pDif4
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) January 31, 2018
Backstory
America cracks down on agencies selling fake followers
The sharp drop in Bachchan's Twitter followers may have a global context. The New York Times recently did an investigative story exploring social media's black-market, overflowing with fake followers. It triggered American federal and state agencies to probe controversial agencies selling unauthentic followers. As a result, several prominent celebrities, athletes, pundits and politicians across the world have lost over a million followers on Twitter.
Twitter's response
Twitter working towards weeding out unauthentic profiles
Twitter India didn't comment. However, it reiterated an earlier statement made by its parent organization, saying it would take action against Devumi, the company behind most fake followers and artificial engagement. "The tactics used by Devumi on our platform and others as described by NYT article violate our policies and are unacceptable. We are working to stop them and any companies like them."
Online footprint
Bachchan is an earnest user of social media
The 74-year-old is among the select tribe of celebrities who take their social media profiles seriously. Bachchan is extremely active on online platforms, and diligently shares nuggets about his personal life and work with his fans. He was also among the first few stars to maintain a daily blog. His is on Tumblr.