- Seamless user registration and free trial that comes with automatic recurring payment. You'd be surprised how easy it to get $5 monthly out of android/apple account without people noticing.
- Bots, lost and fake accounts
- Arrange statistics generally speaking and careful wording. "subscribers" doesn't distinguish between free trial, inactive accounts or long term regular users.
There are plentiful ways to handle PR however you like. Only the insiders really know what's happening inside a company.