Detecting Fake Accounts on Instagram Using Machine Learning and Hybrid Optimization Algorithms

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a hybrid method for detecting fake accounts on Instagram by using the Binary Grey Wolf Optimization (BGWO) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms. By combining these two algorithms, we aim to leverage their complementary strengths and enhance the overall optimization performance. We evaluate the proposed hybrid method using four classifiers: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Logistic Regression (LR). The dataset for the experiments contains 65,329 Instagram accounts. We extract features from each account, including profile information, posting behavior, and engagement metrics. The Binary Grey Wolf and Particle Swarm Optimizations, when combined to form a hybrid method (BGWOPSO), improved the performance in accurately detecting fake accounts on Instagram.