The Liberal Party, via Facebook, said it had become aware that someone on Saturday night started buying fake Twitter followers for Mr Abbott's account. Tony Abbott meets The Flash at Bondi on Sunday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "We are working with Twitter now to remove the fake accounts and investigate who was behind this," the statement said. "The Liberal Party has not purchased or artificially sought to inflate any social media numbers." Mr Abbott's Twitter account has returned to more normal levels but he continues to be bombarded by fake, paid-for followers.

Early on Monday morning Mr Abbott reached 208,357 followers - up from just over 120,000 two months ago, with most of that increase occurring on Saturday and Sunday. Shortly before 8.30am (AEST) on Monday, the Opposition leader's numbers plunged to just over 165,000 as action was taken to remove the fake followers. But his numbers began growing rapidly again - reaching 166,460 within an hour of the cull. It's unclear who is behind the Twitter follower buy-up. Even with the inflated numbers Mr Abbott, who has 188,000 followers, still lags behind Mr Rudd, who was 1.4 million people following his tweets.

Analysis by Fairfax Media from earlier this year found that around 40 per cent of the Twitter followers of prominent politicians were likely to be fake. Matt Nichols, the marketing manager of BuyFacebookLikes, said it was possible to buy followers for other people, as the majority of sellers only require the Facebook or Twitter URL of a person. The ''quality'' of followers that can be purchased varies, from buying real Australian Twitter followers who are getting paid to follow an account, down to buying fake accounts with a filled-out profile, Mr Nichols said. For 70,000 Twitter followers, BuyFacebookLikes would charge $500, while 500 real Australian followers would cost $39. So, could buying "likes" and followers translate into votes?

''A lot of people have a misconception that they will get engagement from purchasing followers. The biggest marketing value lies in social proof and image," Mr Nichols said. Loading Mr Abbott may look more social media savvy, which may then appeal to voters, Mr Nichols said. With Gemma Khaicy