People think Chantel Jeffries is using bots on Instagram after users complained they were being targeted by a slew of bots asking people to partake in her latest promotional giveaway.
Chantel Jeffries is an Instagram sensation, DJ, and model who became well-known after she was rumored to be dating Justin Bieber back in 2014. Since then she’s released her own music, even bringing out an updated version of the Zoey 101 theme tune with Jamie Lynn-Spears.
Chantel has now racked up more than 4.6 million followers on Instagram, and like most social media stars, takes part in promotional giveaways and ads.
Often these types of giveaways will ask that you tag friends, share on your own story or follow some other Instagram accounts in order to get a chance of winning. Chantel’s latest giveaway asks eager entrants to follow a whopping 71 different accounts, and then comment saying “done.”
And if that wasn’t enough to turn people off, Twitter users have complained that they are being harassed by bots in their private DMs, made evident by a number of strange Instagram accounts with zero followers asking them to enter.
These IG “giveaways” are getting ridiculous! I just got a DM request from an acct with 0 followers urging me to enter @ChantelJeffries prepaid VISA giveaway. Based on the comments, multiple others have also gotten DMs. Funniest part… you need to follow 71 accounts to enter 😂 pic.twitter.com/NBvnWLoeWW
— Randi Savage (@randi_savage) April 21, 2021
All of the suspicious accounts seem to be sending the exact same message: “Hey @chanteljeffries just launched a $5,000 giveaway that’s up for grabs! Check out her latest post for details on how to enter to win. Just wanted to share because I saw you follow her.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Twitter and Instagram users are less than impressed, with one person drawing attention to the state of influencer promotions, saying “These giveaways kill me. Go follow 71 accounts, bring me a mermaid tear, travel to the highest mountain, and pluck fur from a goat. Jesus….you can keep your damn visa”
These giveaways kill me. Go follow 71 accounts, bring me a mermaid tear , travel to the highest mountain and pluck fur from a goat. Jesus….you can keep your damn visa
— 🧚♀️jennjo💋💄 (@Jennjo22) April 21, 2021
People are now speculating whether these are bots that Chantel Jeffries herself was using as a marketing tool to get higher engagement on her post. Even with a comment from Paris Hilton herself, the post has notably fewer likes than Chantel’s other recent posts.
- Read More: What happened to Lil Tay?
Influencers have previously come under fire for allegedly using bots to increase their popularity. In late 2020, TikTok’s most-followed creator Charli D’Amelio was accused of buying followers and ridiculed as a result.
Using bots on Instagram will do more than just turn off your followers – The platform itself vowed to crack down on bots in August 2020, announcing that it plans to ask suspicious accounts to verify their identities using a government-issued ID.