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Detect influencer fraud and fake followers with Instagram, X, TikTok and Claude

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Last update 10 days ago

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Analyzes influencer profiles and scores authenticity before brand partnership approval. Detects fake followers, bot accounts, and suspicious engagement patterns using AI-powered behavioral analysis.

🎯 How It Works

Simple 7-Node Workflow:

  1. Input → Submit influencer username and platform (Instagram/Twitter/TikTok)
  2. Fetch → Retrieve complete profile data and engagement metrics
  3. Analyze → Examine follower patterns, ratios, growth velocity, engagement
  4. AI Check → Deep behavioral analysis with Claude AI
  5. Report → Generate comprehensive fraud assessment
  6. Notify → Send detailed email report to partnership team
  7. Log → Save to database for tracking

📊 Detection Capabilities

  • Follower Authenticity: Analyzes follower-to-following ratio (red flag if < 0.5)
  • Engagement Quality: Calculates engagement rate (industry avg: 1-5%)
  • Growth Patterns: Detects suspicious rapid follower spikes
  • Content Consistency: Evaluates posting frequency and regularity
  • Profile Completeness: Checks verification, bio, activity
  • AI Behavioral Analysis: Deep pattern recognition for sophisticated fraud

⚙️ Setup Instructions

1. Configure API Access

Social Platform APIs:

  • Instagram: Get Graph API access token from Meta for Developers
  • Twitter: OAuth 2.0 credentials from Twitter Developer Portal
  • TikTok: Business API credentials (optional)

AI Analysis:

2. Setup Notifications

  • Configure SMTP in "Send Report" node
  • Update recipient email ([email protected])
  • Customize HTML template if needed

3. Database (Optional)

  • Create PostgreSQL table (schema below)
  • Add database credentials to final node
  • Skip if you don't need historical tracking

Database Schema

CREATE TABLE partnerships.influencer_fraud_reports (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  report_id VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE,
  username VARCHAR(255),
  platform VARCHAR(50),
  profile_url TEXT,
  followers BIGINT,
  following BIGINT,
  posts INTEGER,
  verified BOOLEAN,
  authenticity_score INTEGER,
  risk_level VARCHAR(50),
  final_decision TEXT,
  partnership_recommendation VARCHAR(100),
  ai_verdict VARCHAR(50),
  ai_confidence VARCHAR(20),
  red_flags JSONB,
  fake_follower_estimate VARCHAR(20),
  detailed_analysis JSONB,
  created_at TIMESTAMP
);

🚀 How to Use

Webhook Endpoint: POST /webhook/influencer-fraud-check

Request Body:

{
  "username": "influencer_handle",
  "platform": "instagram"  // or "twitter", "tiktok"
}

Example:

curl -X POST https://your-n8n.com/webhook/influencer-fraud-check \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"username":"example_user","platform":"instagram"}'

📈 Scoring System

Overall Authenticity Score (0-100):

  • 80-100: LOW RISK → Approved for partnership
  • 60-79: MEDIUM RISK → Requires manual review
  • 40-59: HIGH RISK → Caution advised
  • 0-39: CRITICAL RISK → Rejected

Weighted Components:

  • Follower Quality (25%)
  • Engagement Quality (35%)
  • Content Consistency (15%)
  • Growth Pattern (15%)
  • Profile Completeness (10%)

Final Score = 70% Automated + 30% AI Analysis

🚩 Red Flags Detected

  • Following-to-follower ratio > 2:1
  • Engagement rate < 0.5%
  • Rapid growth (>50K followers/month)
  • Large following with <10 posts
  • No verification with >100K followers
  • Bot-like comment patterns
  • Suspicious audience demographics

💰 Cost Estimate

  • Instagram/Twitter API: Free tier usually sufficient
  • Claude AI: ~$0.10-0.20 per analysis
  • Estimated: $5-10/month for 50 checks

💡 Best Practices

  1. Always verify HIGH and MEDIUM risk profiles manually
  2. Cross-reference with other influencer databases
  3. Request media kit and past campaign results
  4. Trial campaigns before large commitments
  5. Monitor performance metrics post-partnership
  6. Update detection thresholds based on your findings

🎯 What You Get

Detailed Report Includes:

  • Overall authenticity score (0-100)
  • Risk level classification
  • Partnership recommendation (APPROVE/REVIEW/REJECT)
  • Engagement quality analysis
  • Fake follower percentage estimate
  • AI behavioral insights
  • Specific red flags and concerns
  • Next steps and recommendations