How to tell if a Telegram channel has fake subscribers
Telegram does not show who subscribes to a channel, but bought subscribers leave one trace anyone can see: they do not read. Across 44,232 active channels with 10K+ subscribers whose reach we measured, what counts as “too low” depends heavily on the topic: a shopping channel in the bottom 10% gets under 0.4% of its subscribers to view a post, a war channel under 2.5%.
Paste a username or t.me link and see what share of its subscribers views a post, compared with channels of the same size, topic and language.
The number that gives fake subscribers away
Reach is the share of subscribers who view a typical post. Real audiences never read everything, so reach is always well below 100%. Bought or abandoned subscribers drag it lower still. The trick is knowing what is low for this kind of channel: deal channels are skimmed, war channels are read closely.
Reach of active channels with 10K–100K subscribers, by topic. Bottom 10% and bottom 25% are the lines to watch.
| Topic | Bottom 10% below | Bottom 25% below | Typical (median) | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anime, manga & comics | 1.2% | 3.2% | 8.5% | 445 |
| Arts, books & culture | 2.1% | 4% | 7.8% | 1,010 |
| Betting & gambling | 0.4% | 1.1% | 3.8% | 1,007 |
| Business, finance & economy | 1.5% | 4.1% | 9.2% | 2,458 |
| Cars & transport | 1.8% | 3.8% | 8.5% | 498 |
| Crypto & trading | 0.8% | 2.4% | 6.2% | 1,945 |
| Education & science | 1.8% | 4.2% | 9% | 3,450 |
| Family, kids & relationships | 1.3% | 3% | 7.1% | 571 |
| Fashion & beauty | 1.1% | 2.9% | 6.3% | 2,365 |
| Gaming | 1.4% | 4% | 11% | 1,421 |
| Health & medicine | 2.6% | 4.5% | 8% | 940 |
| Humour & entertainment | 2% | 4.7% | 12% | 1,920 |
| Jobs & careers | 0.8% | 2.2% | 5.5% | 1,121 |
| Lifestyle, travel & food | 2.1% | 4.1% | 8.2% | 1,642 |
| Motivation & self-help | 2% | 4% | 8.1% | 1,592 |
| Movies, TV & streaming | 0.6% | 1.4% | 4.6% | 1,221 |
| Music | 2% | 4.2% | 12% | 462 |
| News & current affairs | 2.4% | 4.6% | 9.2% | 3,876 |
| Politics, government & law | 1.8% | 4.3% | 9.7% | 2,376 |
| Religion & spirituality | 1.1% | 3% | 7% | 1,726 |
| Shopping, deals & giveaways | 0.4% | 1.2% | 3.3% | 1,506 |
| Sports & fitness | 1.6% | 4.1% | 10% | 1,703 |
| Technology & IT | 1.8% | 3.9% | 8.3% | 1,606 |
| War & military | 2.5% | 6.4% | 13.5% | 992 |
Language matters as much as topic
Ukrainian-language channels are read far more closely than Chinese-language ones: the bottom 10% line is 5.8% against 0.5%. A Chinese deals channel with 2% reach can be perfectly normal; a Ukrainian news channel with 2% is not.
Reach of active channels with 10K–100K subscribers, by language.
| Language | Bottom 10% below | Bottom 25% below | Typical (median) | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian | 2.3% | 4.6% | 9.3% | 16,163 |
| English | 0.8% | 2.4% | 6.3% | 5,077 |
| Persian | 1.4% | 3.1% | 7.1% | 4,550 |
| Arabic | 0.8% | 2.1% | 5.8% | 3,385 |
| Ukrainian | 5.8% | 10% | 17% | 1,301 |
| Uzbek | 2.6% | 6.3% | 13% | 1,008 |
| Chinese | 0.5% | 1.3% | 3.2% | 997 |
| Spanish | 1% | 2.4% | 5.6% | 677 |
| Burmese | 0.6% | 1.2% | 2.8% | 478 |
| Italian | 0.8% | 2.8% | 7.1% | 362 |
| French | 0.6% | 1.8% | 5.6% | 325 |
Five warning signs and how common they are
Each sign on its own has innocent explanations. What matters is how rare it is among real channels, and whether several show up together.
Share of channels showing each sign, data to 2026-09-04.
| Sign | Checked among | Channels with it | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reach in the bottom 10% for its size and topic | 44,232 active channels with measured reach | 4,319 | 9.8% |
| Over 100K subscribers, created after February 2025 | 10,363 channels with 100K+ subscribers | 345 | 3.3% |
| Over 50K subscribers, no posts for 90+ days | 20,769 channels with 50K+ subscribers | 4,530 | 21.8% |
| Many ads and a contact shared by 5+ channels | 107,842 channels with 10K+ subscribers | 1,160 | 1.1% |
| Many ads and reach in the bottom quarter | 44,232 active channels with measured reach | 2,274 | 5.1% |
“Many ads” is our label for channels where a large part of recent posts are paid placements. A contact shared by 5+ channels means the same ad manager or owner is listed on at least five channels.
Two signs at once is rare
Only 0.9% of channels with 10K+ subscribers (1,249 channels) show two or more of these signs, and 91.9% show none. Where the combinations cluster says a lot about which corners of Telegram are padded:
- Shopping, deals & giveaways: 5.4% (3,057 channels)
- Betting & gambling: 4.8% (2,299 channels)
- Fashion & beauty: 3.5% (4,868 channels)
- Gaming: 2.9% (3,916 channels)
- Lowest: War & military 0%, Religion & spirituality 0%, Politics, government & law 0%, Arts, books & culture 0.1%.
How to check a channel by hand
- Write down the subscriber count.
- Open 5–10 posts that are at least a week old and note their views. Fresh posts are still collecting views.
- Divide the typical (middle) view count by subscribers. That is the channel's reach.
- Compare it with the tables above for the channel's topic and language.
- Look for a second sign: a very young channel with a huge audience (check the creation date), long silence, or the same ad contact across many channels (find the owner's other channels).
What this cannot tell you
We have no history of subscriber counts, so we cannot see sudden jumps, and we do not inspect individual subscriber accounts. Reach is measured from public view counters, which can be inflated too. Every sign here is a reason to look closer, never a verdict about a specific channel.
Questions
How do I verify that a Telegram channel has real subscribers?
Open a few posts that are at least a week old and compare their views with the subscriber count. Then compare that share with channels of the same size, topic and language: a channel far below the bottom 10% of its group is a red flag. Our channel audit does the comparison for you.
Can I see who is subscribed to a Telegram channel?
No. Only the channel’s admins can see a partial list of subscribers. Everyone else sees only the count, which is why views per post are the most useful public signal.
Can views be faked too?
Yes, views can be bought as well. Bought views usually arrive all at once and do not come with reactions, comments or forwards. A channel whose views are identical on every post, whatever the content, is worth questioning.
Is low reach always a sign of fake subscribers?
No. Archive channels, channels people follow only for occasional announcements, and channels that changed topic all have low reach with real subscribers. Treat it as a reason to look closer, not as proof.
Methodology
Public Telegram channels with 10K+ subscribers in the TGScope catalog, duplicates merged, adult channels left out: 138,671 channels, data to 2026-09-04. Reach is views of a typical recent post divided by subscribers, measured in summer 2026 for 44,232 channels that had posted within 30 days of measurement. Topics come from channel tags grouped into families; ad load and topics are labelled automatically from channel content. Creation dates are periods derived from channel IDs, see how channel IDs date a channel. Typical reach by size is in our reach study.