LONDON: Unilever has launched a campaign against fake followers in a bid to boost transparency in the murky world of product influencers. The world’s second largest advertiser announced the cutting of ties with influencers who buy followers, a practice thought to be widespread in the Gulf. With $7 billion in marketing and brand investment at its disposal, its stand against influencers purchasing followers could have a big impact on media buying in the Middle East. Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Keith Weed said: “We need to take urgent action now to rebuild trust before it’s gone forever.” He said this would be done through 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. Buying influencers has become commonplace, with about one in four influencers in the region making use of bots, Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, founder and managing director of TishTash Marketing & Public Relations, told Arab News in March. “It’s pretty obvious who’s using these bots — log on to Instagram at 3 a.m. and you can see accounts very active at this time, and I don’t think it’s a case of insomnia,” she said. At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Keith Weed will also convene a group to include the World Federation of Advertisers, Instagram and Richard Edelman with the aim of increasing transparency and integrity in the influencer space. The announcement comes as both Unilever and Procter & Gamble audit their advertising spend and their relationships with agencies. Peter Storck, co-founder of influencer marketing measurement firm Points North Group, told Reuters that all of the companies he has analyzed have fallen prey to bots, including Unilever. Besides misleading consumers, he said that bots waste money, since brands are spending to reach non-existent consumers.