A TechCrunch investigation has found Instagram selling ads to a number of companies that it banned last November for allegedly selling fake followers to celebrities and influencers. The investigation apparently found that one can buy 1,000 to 2,500 fake followers by paying between $46 to $126 per month.
At least 17 such companies were openly advertising on Instagram about services which blatantly violate Instagram’s stated policies on selling followers.
In response to the investigation, Instagram shut down the ad accounts of all but two of the companies mentioned in the report, but five more accounts that seem to be in violation of the company’s policies on fake followers have been discovered.