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is facing renewed questions over the authenticity of his Instagram following after analytics
The fitness influencer, who has 986,000 followers, has stayed silent after data showed his account gained 12,046 followers on January 28 – despite losing 318 the day before. The following day, he lost another 1,116 followers.
The biggest jump came on February 4, when his account added 11,443 followers, even though he had been seeing consistent daily losses in the days prior.
Meanwhile, Emily, who has 30,500 followers, saw her account surge by 5,798 on February 5, despite not posting that day.
On surrounding days, her follower changes ranged from a drop of nine to a rise of 42.
Questions about the influx of followers come at a time when brands are increasingly scrutinising influencer accounts before agreeing to partnerships.
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Jono Castano is facing renewed questions over the authenticity of his Instagram following after analytics revealed a series of unusual spikes in followers for both him and his girlfriend, Emily Ryder
Insider sources told The Daily Telegraph: 'I would not work with someone who has dodgy followers, it is unreliable.'
When approached by Daily Mail for comment, Jono addressed the concerns cheekily, sharing a week-old Instagram clip of himself scrolling through his follower analytics with a bemused expression.
The clip caption was edited to read: 'Hopefully that saves your time and budget on writing another story. I've got real concerning story's [sic] to write about if you need?'
He also shared a 'pointed eyes' emoji with Daily Mail, suggesting he sees the controversy as overblown.
When similar claims emerged in 2023, he hit back, saying: 'I've been in the fitness industry for 14 years and have been building my online presence for a long time. These claims are baseless and nothing more than gossip.'
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RMIT social media expert Professor Lisa Given said sudden spikes do not automatically signal inauthentic growth.
'As Jono's account has approximately 986K followers, the increase of 11,443 is not as sizeable a gain as the raw number implies. Similarly, drops of a few hundred followers on any given day are quite negligible,' she explained.
It comes weeks after Jono traded barbs with his ex-girlfriend Simone Holtznagel, the mother of his nearly two-year-old daughter Gia, over their co-parenting arrangement and child support payments.
The fitness influencer, who has 986,000 followers, has stayed silent after data showed his account gained 12,046 followers on January 28 – despite losing 318 the day before - The following day, he lost another 1,116 followers
The biggest jump came on February 4, when his account added 11,443 followers, even though he had been seeing consistent daily losses leading up to it. Meanwhile, Emily, who has 30,500 followers, saw her account surge by 5,798 on February 5, despite not posting that day
When approached by Daily Mail for comment, Jono addressed the concerns cheekily, sharing a week-old Instagram clip of himself scrolling through his follower analytics with a bemused expression. He also shared a 'pointed eyes' emoji with Daily Mail, suggesting he sees the controversy as overblown
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It comes weeks after Jono traded barbs with his ex-girlfriend Simone Holtznagel, the mother of his nearly two-year-old daughter Gia, over their co-parenting arrangement and child support payments. Pictured together in 2023
Simone's explosive post, shared on her Instagram Stories on Friday, February 6, showed her dancing around her living room with their toddler in her arms – while raising her middle finger
'And then, has the audacity to ask if I'm pregnant because I "have a tummy". The confidence. The delusion. The absolute lack of self–awareness.'
