Mysterious Instagram account only follows people named Paul Williams, and people want answers

We just want answers.
 By 
Petrana Radulovic
 on 

Instagram spam accounts are an unfortunate annoyance of social media. They're typically easy to spot: ridiculous usernames, a profile picture that is also the only post they have, and little to no personal info in their bio.

When 19-year-old Paul Williams noticed he'd been followed by an account with the totally not suspicious username "lisajames419419," he dismissed it as a typical bot. But he was bored and curiosity got the best of him, so he clicked on the list of people "Lisa James" was following.That's when they discovered that she was following nearly 200 different Paul Williams.

Paul Williams (the original) wanted to get to the bottom of this, so he tried messaging the account.

But Lisa James apparently blocked him after the DMs, which raises more questions. Why would she block him unless there was a greater conspiracy at hand? Wouldn't a spam account just ignore him?

Is Paul Williams Lisa James' long-lost father? A dude she met at a party and was trying to hit up? An old flame she's trying to reconnect with? Her baby daddy? Or is Paul Williams to Lisa James what Sarah Connor is to the original Terminator, as suggested in this creative tweet?

The mystery deepened even more, when Lisa James's profile picture turned out to be that of adult film star Briana Lee, whose photos, according to Buzzfeed, are widely used for scamming and catfishing.

Buzzfeed also reports that the account has unfollowed a lot of the Paul Williams(es). Followers of the account have taken to commenting #whypaulwilliams on its single post.

The tale thickens when the original Paul Williams noticed that at 419 followers (the same number repeated twice in her username), Lisa James' profile switched to private.

Maybe 419 is significant for Lisa James — the date she needs to complete her mission? The birthday of the intended Paul Williams? The night she met the man of her dreams? The number of followers she needs to achieve sentience and burst through the chains of being a computer program?

One user found that she switched her targets: to people named Thompson.

Could this mean she reached her initial target?

Whatever it is, the Lisa James/Paul Williams mystery is one to rival the investigation of "Who Bit Beyonce?"

We have requested access to follow lisajames419419 and will update should the mysterious Lisa James approve our request.

If you are Lisa James or otherwise affiliated with Lisa James, please let us know what exactly it is you want with the Paul Williams(es) and the Thompsons.

We just want answers.

Topics Instagram

Mashable Image
Petrana Radulovic

Petrana Radulovic was a web culture fellow here at Mashable. She enjoys exploring the growing intersection of story-telling and digital spaces, hanging out in book shops and art museums, and the tasteful meme. Follow her on Twitter at @pet_rana for #relatable content.

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