I also got a prompt to follow accounts that didn't exist yet, but my follow request was approved only after these users joined the platform. There's no proof these accounts were included in usercount estimates
What a dumb conspiracy. Like they just picked what? 1 in 20 or so of their Instagram accounts to get this "shadow account"? Or could it be exactly what the app says when you encounter that, that the follow request will be sent when that user opens a threads account?
It clearly says when you sign up that you will follow these people when they join threads. There is no evidence that these 'shadow' accounts are being included in the metrics before people sign up.
