Unilever CMO Keith Weed applauds Twitter for cracking down on fake followers
Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer Keith Weed has commended Twitter for taking steps to eliminate fake accounts on the social platform.
Keith Weed
On Wednesday, he tweeted that he is pleased to see Twitter “taking a big stand against the fake followers polluting the digital ecosystem.”
Pleased to see @twitter taking a big stand against the fake followers polluting the digital ecosystem. Great step forward which strengthens the industry - I hope to see more following. https://t.co/EdQIoaI7n7
— Keith Weed (@keithweed) July 11, 2018
His comments are in response to Twitter’s recent decision to remove locked accounts from follower counts across profiles globally. Twitter locks accounts when it detects sudden changes in account behavior, like tweeting a large volume of unsolicited replies or mentions. Until now, those locked accounts remained in follower counts, but moving forward they will be removed.
“Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer; others with larger follower counts will experience a more significant drop,” wrote Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s legal, policy, and trust & safety lead, in a blog post. “We understand this may be hard for some, but we believe accuracy and transparency make Twitter a more trusted service for public conversation.”
The move comes one month after Weed expressed his concern over the issue of follower fraud at Cannes Lions. At the festival, Weed said Unilever will no longer work with influencers who buy followers and encouraged the industry as a whole to do more to curb the issue.
“The key to improving the situation is three-fold: cleaning up the influencer ecosystem by removing misleading engagement; making brands and influencers more aware of the use of dishonest practices; and improving transparency from social platforms to help brands measure impact,” Weed said at the time.
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