Jacinta Allan Denies Using Taxpayer Funds to Boost Instagram Followers by 50,000

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has claimed she did not use taxpayer funds to boost her Instagram account followers online.

This comes after Liberal leader Jess Wilson called for an explanation after Allan’s follower count surged by around 50,000 in one day.

Allan currently has over 83,000 followers on her account, a sharp rise from just over 34,500 followers on Feb. 26.

On March 3, Allan ruled out the use of taxpayer funds to pay for these Instagram followers and labelled them bots.

“Let’s be clear, I am focused on people not bots. I’ll be absolutely clear if anyone has any question about that. There’s not a dollar of taxpayer funds that’s been expended on this,” she told reporters at a press conference.

“This is nonsense. But it also shows while there needs to be vigilance in how everything is reported. Let’s not give any credit to this nonsense. They are bots, and I am focused on real people and Victorians and protecting their right to work from home.”

Allan also indicated that her office had raised the sudden jump in followers with Meta.

“I am advised that my office raised it with them immediately and I am not aware that we’ve had a response,” she said.

Opposition Calls For An Explanation

The tension over social media followers comes ahead of a state election set for November 2026, where social media is likely to play a vital role for both parties communicating their message to the public.

Prior to Allan’s reassurance, Liberal leader Jess Wilson had called on the Premier to come clean on whether taxpayer dollars had been used to purchase followers.

“I actually can’t believe we are actually talking about this … the issue isn’t the followers, it’s the fact the Premier wouldn’t answer a direct question whether any taxpayer money was used to buy followers,” she said on March 2.

“So while the Premier continues to deflect, I will always be focussed on the services that Victorians need.”

Wilson has 43,700 followers on her Instagram account.

Foreign Interference Concerns

Meanwhile, Libertarian Member of the Legislative Council David Limbrick raised concerns about potential foreign interference and national security risks.

“This is actually serious. Either the government has purchased a foreign bot army and put our national security at risk, or some other actor has. We need to get to the bottom of it,” he wrote on X.

“Having a premier whose majority of followers are foreign controlled bots is unacceptable.”