Paste any YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok handle. The fake-index is computed from the percentile distribution of a big-data index of tens of millions of real creators — we plot this creator against where everyone their size actually sits, and return a score 0–100.
Type a handle above to start
Works on creators with at least 5 recent posts on the chosen platform. The bigger their following, the more accurate the benchmark comparison.
How it works
How is the channel-level fake-engagement index computed?
The score is not a fixed rule of thumb — it is read straight off a big-data distribution chart. Every day we recompute engagement-and-reach distributions across tens of millions of YouTube / Instagram / TikTok creators in our index, bucketed by follower size (1K, 10K, 100K, 1M, 10M+). For each metric, we plot the creator's value on their bucket's real percentile distribution and convert that rank to a 0–100 suspicion score. Being below the median is normal for half of all creators, so we only start penalising inside the real tail — the bottom 25% of peers, ramping up steeply toward the bottom decile; engagement rate also flags the top 10% for engagement-farm inflation. The weighted average is the fake-engagement index — for YouTube the recipe is 0.30 × ER + 0.30 × view-rate + 0.20 × like-rate + 0.10 × comment-like ratio + 0.10 × ER volatility. Each row in the breakdown above shows exactly how many points it contributed.
How is each post's fake score computed?
For every recent post we look for the classic bought-views fingerprint by comparing against the creator's OWN baseline — not other creators. We measure (1) view_inflation = post views / creator's median views and (2) er_drop = how far the post's ER fell below the creator's typical. A post only scores when BOTH thresholds fire — views ≥ 1.5× the creator's median AND ER dropped ≥ 30% — at which point fake_score = min(100, 25 × view_inflation × er_drop). Posts that don't hit both gates stay at 0. Real viral hits keep their ER roughly stable, so they don't get flagged.
What counts as “fake”?
Bought followers don't watch, like, or comment — so view-rate and like-rate drop against followers. Bot views inflate the denominator of engagement rate, pulling that number down. We catch both.
Is a low score a guarantee the creator is legit?
No. Real, niche, or recently-paused creators can also score low on engagement metrics. The score is best read as a screening signal: trusted means no red flags, alarm means a manual review is warranted before paying for sponsored content.
How fresh is the data?
CreatorDB pulls each creator's public stats roughly weekly. The benchmark distribution refreshes daily. Updated daily.
Is this really free?
Yes, no sign-up. For deeper analytics — sponsorship history, audience demographics, payment estimates — open the full CreatorDB app.
★ Data via the CreatorDB v3 API · Free for everyone · From CreatorDB