Facebook: the removal of inactive accounts creates loss of 10.7 million fans for the European Top 20

The Top 20 European clubs in terms of fans on the social network Facebook have lost 10.7 million fans (-2.1%) compared with February 2015 due to the mass removal of inactive accounts by Facebook since 12/03/2015. The Top 20 clubs on Facebook now have a combined total of 497.1 million fans, according to figures compiled by News Tank on 07/04/2015.

Facebook issued a statement entitled "Making Page Likes More Meaningful", in which the company explained that, from 12/03/2015, it would initiate a removal process of the "likes" from inactive accounts, the company announced on 05/03/2015. "This change ensures that data on Facebook is consistent and up-to-date. (...) It’s our hope that this update makes (Facebook) Pages even more valuable for businesses," stated Facebook.

• News Tank Football has tracked the social network accounts of many European clubs since January 2014.
• These lists include:
  • All 98 clubs in the European Top 5 leagues (Liga BBVA, Barclays Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A TIM, and Ligue 1).
  • A selection of clubs from other countries recently involved in the group…