Fake Engagement Metrics in the Effective Altruism Community?
Accurate as of: Jun 29, 2026
It is relatively common for Effective Altruism organizations to have high engagement metrics (followers, views, etc.). However, we believe that some of these engagement metrics are fake.
Below, we analyze the engagement metrics of an Effective Altruism organization. We have been tracking this organization for over a year, and we have detected patterns that are quite concerning.
FarmKind's Engagement Metrics
FarmKind is an Effective Altruism organization that was founded in 2024.
Less than a year after being founded, FarmKind's Instagram account had 41,000 followers, yet their recent posts were averaging less than 15 likes each.
That is less than 1 like for every 2,500 followers, which is an implausibly low ratio.
Additionally, FarmKind has consistently lost followers since early 2025, and now has less than 36,700 followers.
This pattern — rapid growth on a new account followed by near-zero engagement and steady follower loss — is consistent with mass-purchasing fake followers, and then slowly losing the followers since they are getting banned for being bots.
Closing Thoughts
Instinctively, people treat high engagement metrics as a sign of credibility. If one Twitter account has millions of followers while another has zero, the one with a massive following is assumed to be more legitimate.
But what happens if the engagement metrics are fake?
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References
Key Quote: "Give to rigorously assessed charities in animal welfare through FarmKind."
Note: see how article calculates engagement rate, as well as their table showing what high and low engagement rates are. FarmKind's Instagram has far below the lowest engagement rates the article covers.